The Pack of Five
by This is a story all about how
Summary: The night that Scott was turned, he wasn't the only one. Isaac, Jackson, and Danny must come to terms with their new abilities as well.
1. Chapter 1

**Thanks to orionastro for the prompt.**

Tw: abuse

Red eyes watched from afar as sirens could be heard in the distance. The forest was dark with moonlight attempting to make its way through the trees, but the headlights were bright and the officers that pulled out of their police cars prefered the flashlights to the moon. The creature panted as they wandered the woods looking for half of a dead body. It began to move away down a steep hill as it considered the officers attempts futile. Even if they found the girl's body, it wouldn't do them any good. As the search-party's lights beamed through the trees above it, the creature continued to make its way through the autumn leaves.

"Stiles! Wait up! Stiles!" A voice called in the darkness. A dog barked in the distance as the creature eyed the moon, its mouth watering for the sensation of blood dripping down its throat. It sniffed the air and headed in the direction of meat, defenseless in the safety of night when predators usually slept. Easily, the prey was caught, startling the rest of the deer it had been sleeping with. The creature ate ravenously, almost grinning with its snarled mouth and heavy fur that dressed the rest of its body. It's long back and powerful legs arching in the darkness as it bit into its food, chewing the raw meat and letting blood smear its face and run down its claws.

Suddenly, it heard a yelp followed by rustling leaves and a thud. In the faint moonlight, it may have had trouble seeing the boy as he pulled himself up with a fallen tree, but this creature could see easily in the dark, and a desire fueled it. _Power._ It called to him and he could see this opportunity in the boy. As he began to walk away, the creature felt a growl rumble through it. He was walking away? Not so soon.

The boy stopped in his tracks. _Good._ Slowly he turned towards it. Red eyes peered at him from the shadows of the woods. As he tried to see it more clearly, the creature charged at him. The boy screamed as the creature pounced on him, pulling him by his waist towards it. He tried to grab at anything to hold himself steady against it, but it was no use. He screamed as it bit into his side and then quickly disappeared into the dead of night.

 _Yes… why hadn't I thought of this before?_ The creature asked itself. It looked up into the sky and made a snarling grin at the moon. _Watch me now as I revive the power of the Hale pack._ Into the darkness it ran looking for its next target.

Xxx

Stiles sighed loudly, interrupting the sheriff's lecture about the dangers of wandering through the woods at night with a possible murderer on the loose. He paused then and sighed as well. "Don't listen in on my calls, alright? And you're grounded."

"But dad!"

"Goodnight." He said in finality, and walked away. Stiles flailed around in frustration and headed into his jeep.

Xxx

Isaac waited in his room as he listened to his father's yelling into a phone downstairs. "That happened _years_ ago, stop bringing it up. Don't call me again." After the sound of something hitting the wall downstairs, Isaac made an irritated sigh and glared out his window. At least he had the first day of school to look forward to. It would be an excuse to get out of the house and be away from his father after a summer vacation that felt too long. The whole house felt hot and not because of the weather. The air was thick and muggy with the tension Isaac felt, the agitation that grew as he yearned to live independently and without his father's oppressive manners. Isaac picked up a picture of his brother, Camden, and gave a little sigh. Would it have been easier if he was still with them? Isaac didn't know and put the picture of the man back down on his desk. Maybe if Isaac joined the military too, he'd be able to get out of this house faster.

" _Isaac!"_ He heard his father call to him from downstairs. He felt his entire body tense up and held his breath.

 _Please don't…_ Isaac thought. He went through his head and tried to figure out what he could have messed up this time. Had he forgotten to do the dishes? Maybe it was because he left the shoes in the living room instead of putting them away. Did it really matter? Why did he care so much?

" _Isaac!"_ Mr. Lahey yelled, louder this time, his voice sharp with increasing anger. Isaac flinched and got up from his chair, his footsteps heavy down the stairs and his head hot. His muscles felt stiff in his shoulders as his fists clenched. "Did you finish your summer reading?" He asked, his father's eyes glaring.

 _Why do you care?_ "Yeah."

" _Really_?" He said, putting his hands on his hips with eyes made of fire.

Isaac tried to straighten his back while avoiding his father's eyes. "Yes, sir."

"And what about the dishes?"

"I did them." He said, folding his hands over his own, feeling his shoulders begin to slouch under his father's judgemental eyes.

"Oh yeah? You're just doing everything, huh?" Mr. Lahey practically spat.

 _I can never do anything right…_ Isaac thought. No matter what he did, his father would find a way to be angry at him. Mr. Lahey walked away, moving into the darkness of the living room to turn on a lamp and grab a remote. "Isaac!" The boy flinched away from the irritated volume.

" _What?_ " Isaac asked, his breath hot.

"Come here." Mr. Lahey's voice demanded sternly.

Isaac wanted to turn and leave, to just run out of the house with all his might. His body tingled with the sensation to rebel, to escape, but he didn't know how to. Not when he felt his father's hands on him everytime he heard the agitated strain in his voice, not when he saw the lights go out and felt his skin grow cold on him before he could think to run. Isaac made his way into the living room, around the sofa to stare where his father pointed. "You see this?" He asked. Isaac didn't say anything. "Answer me! Do you see this?"

" _Yes._ " Isaac said, his voice not hiding his irritation. He glanced up at his father's silence, watching the tension in the man's jaw and the veins in his face rise. "Sir…" Isaac added softly, his eyes back to the mud on the carpet.

"What did I tell you about these _fucking_ shoes in the house? _Huh_?" He yelled, leaning into Isaac. The boy tried not to cower away, but he felt his chin pull in closer to his chest and his back curve to make himself smaller.

"You-"

" _Don't talk back._ " He yelled, punching Isaac in the jaw as the boy's hands quickly came up in reflex.

 _Fuck._ Isaac thought.

"What? Trying to _block_ me? What, are you trying to _fight_ your old man?" His father said with a cocky chuckle, his chest tall, his head high. "You think you _can_?"

"No, sir." Isaac said, trying to hide the quiver in his voice. Isaac struggled to keep his hands to his side as his father punched him again, in the stomach making the boy double over. A gasp came from him as he struggled to regain his breath.

"Pick up your shoes and clean up this mess." His father said, practically spitting the words out. Isaac didn't move, didn't breathe. He watched as his father's legs moved out of view. When he could hear the padding of his feet as the floor turned from carpet to wood, Isaac took a breath.

As he listened to Mr. Lahey go around the corner to pick up whatever it was he'd thrown earlier, Isaac cursed under his breath, "Asshole." Isaac grabbed his shoes and went up to his room.

"You better not leave this mess down here." He heard his father call from downstairs.

"I _won't,_ I'm just putting away my _shoes._ " He yelled down.

"Don't _use_ that tone of voice with me." His father warned.

"I'm _not._ " Isaac muttered before heading back downstairs. He felt his father's glare as he watched him from the foot of the stairs. Isaac didn't look at him as he went into the kitchen to grab some paper towels from the sink.

"What, are you _stupid?_ " His father asked.

Isaac tried not to involuntarily sigh.

"Get the fucking carpet cleaner." Isaac could feel his father's eyes staring into the back of his neck. He turned to the kitchen closet and grabbed it. Moving back into the living room, he sighed quietly to himself thinking that it hadn't been that bad this time. He figured his father held back because he was going to school tomorrow. Isaac touched his jaw gently and wondered if it would swell anyway. Maybe no one would notice. After scrubbing away at the carpet, he heard his father stomping upstairs.

 _Why is he still angry?_ Isaac thought, and then remembered the phone call his father had earlier. On an impulse, he suddenly felt the need to go grab a soda from the store a few blocks down. He barged out the door, hardly noticing the cool night air. It wasn't until he got out of the store that he felt the cold on his bare arms. He rubbed them for warmth, his hands grazing his short sleeves as he did so, and started to walk back home. _Did he notice I left?_ Isaac wondered. _He'll probably be pissed I didn't ask him._ He unscrewed the cap of his soda bottle, which was followed by a satisfying hiss as the carbonation floated up to the top. He quickly closed it to keep the bottle from overflowing as his phone began to ring. Isaac pulled it out and saw "Dad" on the caller ID. He gulped down his soda nervously. _Maybe he just wasn't done_. Isaac thought as he touched his jaw with the cool bottle. His throat began to feel tight as he sensed walls closing in around him. Isaac's breath quickened and he suddenly found himself at his father's cemetery. "Yeah I was just… checking up on it. That's all. I was… watching out for grave robbers… or something." He added lamely, muttering to himself. _But you didn't answer your phone_. Isaac looked up to the starry sky, pissed at himself for being so stupid. The phone began to ring again but he just stared at it in his palm. He could feel the last ring approaching. He needed to answer it or-

Isaac's head spun up as he heard something move in the distance. The sound of rustling leaves and a twig snapping. Was he there? Isaac squinted into the dark. But how did he know Isaac would be there? He thought he saw something red gleaming on the other side of the iron fence that marked the edge of the cemetery. _I'm so dead._ He thought, biting his lip and gripping his phone and bottle. He didn't expect the growling though. _What?_ Isaac took a step back. Was it a rabid animal? He saw the two red dots follow his movement. A gulp involuntarily tracked down his throat as he took another step back. As it launched toward him, he tripped backwards and immediately pushed off his feet in the other direction, but the beast was quicker and pinned him to the ground with its sheer weight. He felt its hot breath on his back, and the low snarl that threatened to break his neck. Isaac tried to hold back tears as he suddenly realized he might die. Pain shot up him from his waist as he felt its teeth sink into his skin. He cried out and it was suddenly gone. " _Ah! Fuck!"_ He yelled, his hands rushing to his side feeling holes in his shirt while hot blood seeped through. Isaac inhaled quickly and looked around with wild eyes, trying to figure out where the beast had gone. He flinched away from the sound of howling nearby. _A wolf?_ He shuddered and rushed home, hoping not to bump into it again.

Xxx

Jackson closed his car door and looked up in alarm at the sound of howling in the distance. He furrowed his brows at the oddness of it. When he was a child in Beacon Hills, he sometimes thought he heard it too, but that had been many years ago. Besides, Beacon Hills didn't have wolves anymore. His mother had told him when he'd asked her after being frightened one night. He thought he'd seen a large dog, that didn't seem normal. At the time he thought it was a monster, but his mother thought it was more likely a wild coyote or something. That was when she'd looked it up and found that wolves hadn't been in Beacon Hills for decades. Jackson shrugged off his worry and headed into the house.

Closing the door behind him, he bent a knee to the ground.

"Hey." His mother called distractedly, watching the nightly news.

"Hey." He said back, looking up at her and then back to his shoes as he took them off. He headed up to his room and fell into his bed. Practice was tomorrow. School was tomorrow. Jackson couldn't help but feel a sense of dread as pressure began to sit in him. He had to be perfect.

Sitting up, Jackson picked up his phone as it chimed to tell him he got a new text. He expected that it would be from Lydia, but instead Danny's name appeared.

Danny: _Did you hear that howl?_

Jackson: _Ya y_

D: _My moms freaking out saying the wolves are back_

J: _lol figures_

D: _Yeah she wanted me to give u a good luck charm. I know its kind of weird but…_

J: _k see u at school_

Jackson sighed. Over the years, he'd learned that Danny's parents had always been weirdly superstitious. He didn't really know to what extent and Danny never tried to explain. Looking out the window, he imagined going back onto the lacrosse field and being ace, his parents at his game, happy and loving him. He imagined finally feeling good enough and his eyebrows pressed together. Suddenly, a mask swept over his face and he looked normal, quickly sitting. He walked over to his lacrosse stick and punched into its pocket making sure it was firm. After five minutes of messing with it, he got another text.

D: _Can we meet up?_

J: _now?_

D: _Sorry my mom_

J: _sure b there in 10_

Jackson headed down the stairs and towards the door.

"Are you leaving? It's late." His mom said, looking over her shoulder and turning to face him from the sofa.

"Yeah, Danny wanted to meet up before school. I'll be back soon." He said.

"Alright, drive safe." She said, turning back to the tv, his father sitting in a sofa-chair with his laptop.

Jackson got in the car and drove towards Danny's house. He thought he saw something move incredibly fast to his left, but figured it was a trick of the eye. Danny walked out as he saw Jackson's headlights through the window. Jackson saw Danny make his way to the sidewalk from the side door down the driveway. From the front door of the house to the sidewalk was lawn and flowerbeds. Jackson met him halfway on the lawn.

"Hey, sorry, my mom, you know…"

"Yeah, I know. Why'd you come out the side door?"

"The front door got jammed somehow, we're gonna get someone to fix it this week. Here." He said. "She said to carry it on you. It's like, supposed to ward off evil creatures."

Jackson opened the napkin and found a dried flower inside it with purple petals. "What, in my pocket or something?"

"I don't know, probably. It's all just superstition anyway, but you know her."

Jackson chuckled and nodded. "Alright, thanks." He said, turning back to the car before he heard a low growl. Danny froze and Jackson looked where his eyes stared. Terrified, Jackson ducked so that his car would hide his head, even if he wasn't right next to him. Across the street, a beast that looked like a wolf but much larger and fouler glared at them. "Something like that?" He whispered.

"Don't panic." Danny said, slowly backing up.

"I'm _not._ " Jackson said with a nervous smile.

"Just… come with me." Danny said, trying to stay calm as he took another step back, keeping his eyes on the creature. "It shouldn't hurt us… I don't think."

 _What does that mean?!_ Jackson slowly crept towards Danny's side door, trying to keep his body low. They heard it growl again, and suddenly it lunged towards them. Now they were running, but not fast enough. It first clamped down on Danny and bit him.

"Holy shit!" Jackson yelled, jumping back. Quickly it was on him. Jackson still had the little flower in his hand and gripped it tight, but forgetting it was there in his panic.

"The wolfsbane!" Danny yelled, but Jackson didn't understand and cried out in pain as the beast bit him too and suddenly was gone. The side door burst open as Danny's father ran out, followed by his mother.

"What's going on?" She asked, coming from behind her husband.

"I… I don't know." Danny said, tearing his eyes from Jackson in wide eyed panic. "It came so fast-I-"

"What did?" His mother asked, coming to his side. "What happened?" She stopped at the feeling of something wet and hot on his arm. "You're bleeding?" She asked.

Danny blinked, "What? Oh-yeah, I think it bit me."

"What did, what bit you?" She asked, holding his shoulder tightly without meaning to.

Jackson breathed heavily, his mind high with adrenaline and hopelessly confused. He felt something touch his shoulder and flinched away, looking up at it's source. Danny's father gave him a sad smile beneath his thick moustache, pulling his hand away. "Why don't you come inside, have a drink of water, hmm?"

Jackson slowly shook his head. "No… no… I should go home." He said simply, regaining his focus. _Some animal._ He reasoned to himself. _Something big._ He was lucky to be alive and he knew it, though he wondered why it just ran away. _Was it a bear? No, it looked… it looked like a wolf… but bigger and stranger._ Still, he was grateful he'd survived, and finally he took a moment to inspect his shoulder, the light from the open door helping him see the bite mark and blood dripping from it. He heard the man curse at the site of the bite. Jackson sighed, wondering if he should go to the hospital and get it checked out. He hoped it wouldn't get in the way of lacrosse. Did he need to get checked for rabies? "I think I'm going to drop by the hospital, want to come?" Jackson asked, looking at Danny.

"They can't do _anything_." Danny's mother said with tears streaming down her face. "Only _I_ can help him." She said, "And if you have any sense, you'll come with me." She said, helping her son up and leading him inside. "But I won't wait for you." She hesitated at the door, "I know you don't understand us, why we give you things like wolfsbane. Maybe our beliefs seem strange to you, but if you'll let us, we'll help you."

"Mom, _don't._ " Danny pleaded.

"Oh then what do _you_ think happened? _Huh_?" She said angrily, her voice fading as she moved into the house, the sound of a lecture beginning.

Jackson watched as the three of them left, Danny's father pausing at the door to look at Jackson and see if he would follow and then sighed, shaking his head as he closed the door.

Jackson stared as it shut, and continued to after. Suddenly, fear struck him as he looked around to see if the beast was still nearby. He tried not to run to his car, but allowed himself to jog. Nervously, he drove to the hospital, feeling a bit shaken.

Xxx

Scott's sleepy body began to wake at hearing a howl. In his sleepy state, he didn't seem to know himself, groggily getting out of bed. He felt strange, like his limbs were not his own, as if they were moving in ways he didn't think were possible. His fingers tingled and and his nails felt new, fresh, the cool night air tickling them in a way that made them feel longer. His face didn't feel right either, and the smells of his room washed over him. He opened a window but wasn't sure where he was going, it was as if instinct was leading him rather than sense. Scott saw two red glowing dots a short distance from his house and felt as if he must do something.

He jumped down and dashed into the darkness, his eyes able to see when the street lamps were too far away. It felt like a dream, and his head was muddled, thirsting for something he didn't understand, though it didn't seem like he needed to. Into the woods he ran on all fours, leaves flying beneath him at his speed. He could smell everything, the rotting leaves, the strange scent of living creatures, and he sensed things he didn't understand. He heard things that sounded like heartbeats and suddenly they quickened, slowed, and stopped as the scent of blood wafted in the air around him. Tiredness swept over him then, and he felt himself falling asleep, his body feeling smaller, his nails shorter, and then in the distance he heard a howl.

Xxx

His phone rang again. He stared at the front door as if in a meditative state. In truth, Isaac didn't want to go in. The door swung open at the sound of Isaac's ringtone, startling him from his trance to stare open-mouthed at his father, fear welling up inside him.

"What the _hell_ were you doing?" His father asked, yanking Isaac's arm into the house.

"I was checking on the cemetery."

"Don't _play_ with me." He said as if he were growling.

Suddenly Isaac remembered his struggle with the wild thing and said, "I _was_ , and some _animal_ bit me- look." He tried to reach down to his shirt, but his father still had Isaac's arm in his hand.

"You need a lesson in discipline." Coach Lahey said, his teeth gritted together in a snarl.

"Wait dad- I did, look, let me just _show_ you." He tried to grab at his shirt as his father pulled him towards the door. The door to the basement. The door to the box. The-

Isaac's heart quickened as a panic rose in him, his body rushed with adrenaline and… and a new sensation he didn't understand, but his body seemed to for him. He yanked his arm away from his father and struck him hard in the jaw, the same way Mr. Lahey had struck Isaac earlier, but this time accompanied by the sound of a crack. His father gasped at the strength of the blow, almost falling over as he reached out for the wall behind him. Isaac heard a ringing in his ears and a headache attack him. "Augh." He pressed his hand to his temple and didn't see his father's face flash from surprise to rage. In his confusion, his father grabbed him violently and pulled him towards the door. Isaac pulled him off, but his father grabbed him harder, dragging him down the stairs and shoving him into the icebox.

"No!" Isaac cried out as the lid closed on him. The dread came then, the walls feeling closer and closer, and his lungs gasping for air as if there wasn't enough oxygen until he passed out from hyperventilating. When he woke up, his panic rose again, and when he collapsed he had nightmares. His skin was wet with cold sweat. Isaac didn't notice the grooves deep in the walls where there hadn't been before, as if a wild animal had tried to claw its way out. He also didn't notice the sound of the car leaving from the driveway.

At night the next day, when his father opened the lid, Isaac lay there, exhausted. Shakily he climbed out of what felt like his coffin as his father called him weak with a disgusted look on his face. As Mr. Lahey disappeared up the stairs, Isaac watched with exhausted fear and awe. His father's jaw was bruised. Stumbling up the stairs, he felt that he was also weak from hunger and thirst, but slipped up into his room. Staring at the bookbag in the corner, he realized he'd missed the first day of school. Isaac lay on his bed. He looked at his fist and clenched it, remembering how it felt to punch his father in the jaw. He felt… powerful.


	2. Chapter 2

Scott didn't think much of the attack last night, except that it was strange. He looked at the bite in the morning while changing for school, or rather the big white pad that was pressed against it. It made sense for it to be a wolf bite. What else could it be? That howl, the bite itself, sure it was huge but maybe wolves were just that big. It was his first time seeing one after all, he didn't have anything to compare it to except pictures he'd seen.

But when he got to school, Stiles told him wolves hadn't been in California for 60 years. Sure it was odd, but it had to be something. Did it matter? He was fine now, no wolves chasing him. Stiles grinned after Lydia and then got mad when she didn't notice him, as usual. Things were usual, weren't they? Scott absentmindedly stroked the bandage over his shirt. It was just a weird night. They'd gone looking-and he'd gone finding-a body. Something strange was bound to happen. Now it was the first day of school, the start of a regular pattern of life that was very unordinary.

He sat disinterestedly in class, waiting for the first lesson to start. He could hear Stiles' pen tapping impatiently behind him and his small breaths. Oddly enough, it was almost like he could feel Stiles' bouncing energy. The teacher started to talk about _the body found in the woods,_ while writing "Kafka's Metamorphosis" on the board, and it felt like a spotlight was shone on Scott. He looked at Stiles who winked back at him. It felt so mischevious to be in on the big secret in a way no one else was. Scott tried not to think of what the body looked like last night. It was pretty easy not to, considering how loudly Stiles was breathing. When the teacher announced that they had a suspect in custody, he looked back at Stiles but Stiles shrugged back implying this was the first he'd heard of that. Scott hesitated to turn back at the sight of Stiles. He didn't seem to be breathing loudly. But Scott could almost feel Stiles' nervous excitement, despite his trying to hide it. Stiles looked down at his syllabus with the rest of the class, making Scott look away and down at his desk. Scott scrunched up his eyebrows in confusion. It wasn't exactly that he was _feeling_ Stiles' excitement but…. He breathed in deeper with his nose. Stiles' sensation of emotion was definitely there, but he couldn't quite place why it felt so- Suddenly, the door opened and a girl walked in with a supervisor. She was introduced as Alison Argent.

Scott blinked up at her as she walked past and smiled at him. She was certainly pretty. As the teacher continued talking and told the students that they needed to write something down, Scott heard Stiles respond to something the new girl, Alison, had said. Scott peeked over his shoulder to see Stiles handing Alison a pen.

Later in the day, Scott went to his locker. He recognized the sound of Stiles' walk from another hallway. _Wow, I can even recognize his footsteps now?_ Scott anticipated the satisfaction of correctly guessing his best friend's walk. The new girl went to her locker and Scott glanced up at her. She smiled back and suddenly Lydia had approached her. Meanwhile, Scott continued to anticipate Stiles' steps. Finally, Stiles went up to Scott, who grinned widely back. "What?" Stiles asked.

"I knew you were coming." Scott said. It felt like he was showing off, but he didn't really mind.

"Okay?" Stiles said with a questioning grin. "I mean, I normally do."

Their classmate came up to them and asked how Alison had managed to become friends with Lydia so quickly, to which Stiles responded matter-of-factly that it was because Alison was hot. Scott glanced at Alison, but even as he did so, he seemed to be noticing Stiles. He glanced back at his friend who rambled on about the social hierarchy of high school and how he didn't make the rules. No, it wasn't entirely that he was _noticing_ Stiles, it was like being in tune with him. It felt good, like they were on a roll, riding a wave and being in sync. Alison quickly glanced back as Stiles' energy began to burst through the conversation. Scott tried not to laugh, but he'd heard this frustrated story so many times and it was nice not being on the receiving end of it for once.

"It isn't fair! Just because Jackson is pretty he gets to date her, he gets to- I can't even _talk_ to her most of the time."

"Yeah I know buddy." Scott said, rubbing Stiles' back empathetically. Their classmate looked like she rejected opening a can of worms. Scott smiled a sorry to her and she walked away.

xxx

At the same time, Alison was talking to Lydia who wanted to know where the new girl had gotten her jacket from. Almost immediately, Lydia seemed taken by her. Still, Alison hesitated when Lydia asked her to come to a party she was hosting. "Family night." She'd said and left it at that. No one else heard it besides those two and Jackson who had come to say hello to his girlfriend, Lydia.

"You okay?" Lydia asked Jackson, who apparently seemed off. He definitely seemed irritable.

"Yeah, I just had a freak accident last night. Kind of shook me up I guess." He said.

"Well hopefully not too much, today's the first day of practice, _captain_." Lydia said with a wink and a jab.

"I _know_." Jackson said.

xxx

Jackson felt odd. He seemed to constantly have a headache and be somewhat short of breath. He wondered if it was a fever and if maybe he really did have rabies. The nurse, with her long, curly, black hair had said that he'd get his results today. He remembered her telling him that it would take a while to heal and would likely scar. She looked familiar, but he wasn't sure why. Sighing as the bell rang for the end of school, Jackson headed into the locker room. He didn't feel like talking, even when others tried to speak to him. He changed his clothes quietly and got his gear ready. Slowly, the headache started to lift and his senses became clearer. Danny walked in late as Jackson was heading out to the field.

"Jackson." He started.

"Mmh."

"Wow, hey, are you alright?" Danny asked, "You don't look too good." He gulped, and whispered to him. "Let me see that bite?" Jackson shrugged him off. "Wait, Jackson, this is important. I want to know if yours is still there."

Jackson paused to look up at Danny then. Still there? What did he mean? Setting aside his things and taking off his jersey, they looked at his shoulder. The mark was gone. Jackson furrowed his eyebrows. Maybe he _was_ having a fever, and last night was just one of those weird dreams that come with being sick. Slowly, he looked up at Danny. _But he knew about the bite._

"Danny… what happened last night?" He needed to hear it with Danny's words, but he couldn't help but speak over his friend before he could even talk. "It was a dog right? Or a wolf or something? I-I-" Jackson stared off into the distance, trying to find words to describe it, trying to prove it was a creature he could understand.

"Jackson…" Danny grimaced. "Hey, we really need to talk."

Jackson nodded, but then shook his head. Nothing made sense. The bite was real, but it was gone? Something- _not_ a monster- attacked him and Danny last night. "Where's yours?" Jackson asked, looking hopefully to Danny.

"Jackson-I, we _really_ need to talk. My parents-they-they can help us."

Impatiently, Jackson tried to pull up Danny's shirt where he thought he remembered his friend getting bit. "Wait- _Jackson_." But the bite wasn't there. Was it higher? He tried pulling the shirt up more, but Danny shoved it down. " _Jackson._ "

"What?!" He replied impatiently.

"Mine is gone too." He whispered, glancing around the almost empty locker room. "And we can talk about that, but _not here._ " Danny looked deep into Jackson's eyes and finally he relented.

"Alright, we'll talk after practice then-"

"Jackson."

"Why aren't you getting ready? You came late right?"

" _Jackson._ "

"Oh my god, _what_."

"You can't go out there." Danny noticed his teammate Scott peeking his ear out from around a corner of the lockers. "Look, just come with me, okay?" His hand wrapped around Jackson's arm, but his friend pulled away.

"Dude, no-"

"Jackson." He let go and his frown deepened. "Jackson, look, I know that practice is really important to you, but you don't understand, you _can't_ go out there right now. We need to talk about what that thing did to us." This time, Danny noticed Scott's eyes peeking, but Scott quickly looked away. "I need you to trust me right now."

"No. You don't get it. It's the first day of practice, do you know what that would look like if I skipped? Are you kidding me? Danny, if you know it's really important, then just wait- I'll be done in a couple of hours, you can't wait until then?"

"No." Danny said, his eyes soft and honest.

Jackson clenched his fists and jaw. Rage started to bubble through him.

"Jackson, calm down." Danny said with alarm in his voice.

" _Ahh!_ " Jackson put a palm to his temple as a sharp pain and ringing noise burst through his head. Danny rushed him to the showers and had cold water run over him. "What the _fuck_ Danny?"

"Scott, don't miss the first practice of the school year, okay?" Danny said with a patient smile.

"Right I was just…" Stiles grabbed the back of Scott's collar playfully. Scott didn't seem surprised, it was almost as if he expected it.

"This is the year right?" Stiles said with a big grin. "You really think that?"

Danny watched Scott nod, his focus drifting as they headed out of the locker room and they continued to talk about their chances of getting off the bench this year. Turning back to Jackson, who still looked angry, Danny said. "I need you to keep calm, okay? When _I_ got angry, I… I changed."

But Jackson was already changing, his claws were growing, his limbs extending. _Danny got angry?_ That didn't happen often. His anger weakened for a moment and he could hear his friend saying, "I need you to focus. Something bit us, and I _know_ what. I know what is happening to you, because it's happening to me too. It happened to me last night. All I know, is when I got angry, I turned into… _something else_ , and then my room was shredded."

 _Something else?_ "You-?"

"I turned into something else, like you are-look at yourself _Jackson_." His voice echoed as his yell made its way through the now empty locker room. Danny gestured to the mirrors and Jackson walked over. But what he saw, he didn't understand. It moved with him, but it didn't _look_ like him. In some ways it did, but not with his eyebrows raised like that, or the hair that scrambled up and down his body. Jackson touched his nose, followed where, in the mirror, it looked like the monster's and not like his own. "What's… happening."

"I'm not sure, but I think it has to do with an urban legend about Beacon Hills."

Jackson's heart began to slow from its angered rhythm. He saw his features recline into his familiar shape. "Wow." Was all he could muster. Jackson glanced at where the field was.

"Jackson, you've got to be kidding me."

"I'm not like you, I need this. It isn't just a high school sport for me." Jackson said, turning towards Danny.

Taking a step towards Jackson, Danny said, "Jackson, if you go out there right now, and someone sees you like the way you just saw yourself, do you think you're going to be able to play lacrosse? At _all_?"

And of course, Danny was right. He seemed to have a way of just knowing things. He could see the logic when Jackson was too wrapped up in his own head. Sighing, trying to bite off his own frustration and impatience, Jackson nodded and changed back into his street clothes, making sure to check that the wolfsbane was still in his pocket.

"Wait, throw that out." Danny said, "It's not good for us."

"I thought you said it protects against evil or something."

Danny averted his eyes. "I did. I guess I didn't really know what I was talking about." Looking up at Jackson, his gaze insisted Jackson do it.

"Alright, whatever. So, what _is_ happening?" He asked, grabbing his backpack and leaving his lacrosse bag in his locker.

"I'll tell you when we leave." Danny said, looking down the hallway. "I don't want anyone to hear us."

"Alright." Jackson said, annoyance lathering his throat.

xxx

Alison walked with Lydia to the bleachers, noticing the boy from class that sat in front of her. He was kind of cute, though she'd hadn't spoken to him yet. The boy looked up at her, surprised to see her there, and she became a little curious. She saw the boy turn to another player and then head to the field as she asked Lydia who he was.

The boy, who she now knew was named Scott, was stopped by his coach before going onto the field. He then headed into the goal for practice and seemed to jerk away from the whistle being blown. She thought that was strange, but didn't think much of it. After getting hit with the ball in the head, sending him to his feet, the field erupted with laughter. At the next shot, he held his own. Another player yelled an encouraging "Yeah!" and she saw Scott turn to him, though under his gear, she couldn't see him grinning.

"He seems like he's pretty good." Alison said as he continued to block shots. Alison's new friend, Lydia, nodded as she agreed

But Lydia seemed to be growing impatient as time went on. "Where is Jackson?" She mumbled to herself. "This is really weird, he's supposed to be here right now. He's _captain._ " She said. The coach seemed to reflect her feelings as he demanded of his lacrosse players to tell him where Jackson and Danny were. Finally, the two girls watched him send a player into the locker room.

"Oh, and that other kid, what's his name? Isaac, see if Isaac is in there too." The coach said and then turned back to his team. "You kids can't just skip practice like this. Well? Continue practicing! You know what? No, go run ten laps around the field." The team groaned as they got in a line to run. "You can't just go skipping practices! Don't think your teammates are gonna skip out on this, they're gonna run too." He said defiantly.

Xxx

Things were going well for Scott, but they were also pretty strange. He tried to confess it all with the worry that maybe he'd gotten sick or something, but Stiles only joked that Scott had turned into a werewolf. Stiles' silly mood quickly shifted as they bumped into Derek Hale. Scott didn't think much of it, though it was odd that the stranger had his inhaler. Deciding to put his worry on pause, he went to work at the animal clinic.

Before he started work, he decided to check on his wound. He got some supplies from around the clinic to clean it with, but when he took off the bandage… there wasn't a bite mark. Not even a scratch. _What?_ He thought to himself. Suddenly he remembered hearing Danny's conversation with Jackson in the locker room. Wasn't Danny saying something about a bite too? But it couldn't be the same thing, that'd be too much of a coincidence. Scott threw out the bandage and decided to just be grateful the bite had healed.

While working, he noticed the cats seemed to be on edge and there was a knock on the animal clinic door. When he went to answer it-it was that girl, the new one from class, what was her name? Soaked from the rain, she asked him to help a dog she'd accidentally ran over. As he came to look at the frightened creature, he felt an instinct guide him as he came closer to it. Immediately, it cowered and Scott safely took it in.

Scott good naturedly lent his classmate an extra shirt and tried to make her feel at ease after being so panicked. After she seemed to recover her mood, he walked her to her car and said goodnight as she said thank you.

Xxx

"Can I at least buy some gummy worms?"

"Not if you're going to try and catch onto another police case." Mr. Stilinski said.

"I'm _not._ " Stiles said, spinning on his heels to face his dad.

Mr. Stilinski squinted at his son, trying to figure out if he should let him out of the house when he suddenly realized the benefit of letting Stiles out. "Bring back some chocolate." He said and settled on the couch before noticing his sheriff's jacket was still on.

Stiles gripped his fist and pulled it down while whispering "yes!" as Mr. Stilinski shouldered his jacket off.

"Hang this up for me, will ya?" The sheriff asked.

"Yeah, of course dad, love ya."

Mr. Stilinski huffed a chuckle as Stiles grabbed the jacket and headed out the door. He made his way into the driver's seat and wondered if he should stop by Scott's place on the way back, but decided against it. They lived close to each other, but the convenience store was in the opposite direction, it was kind of late anyway.

Xxx

Isaac lay on his bed and rubbed his jaw. It was still pretty sore. And he was exhausted. The Box always drained him, made him feel weak and powerless. All of his muscles were stiff and his jaw felt tight. Staring at his ceiling, his eyes began to flutter closed. His mind became muddled, confused, and dumb. His thoughts slowed until he had none. The only thing that led him on was his yearning to run, feeling a thirst he didn't understand. He lusted for it, lusted for something, though he didn't know what. Suddenly he could feel, but didn't notice, the touch of pavement on his feet. His nose made him change direction at the smell of something strong in the air, though likely any normal human wouldn't have picked up on it.

And then he saw the creature that his nose lead him too. It was strange looking, like a boy, but not. Hairier, it's ears pointy, it's feet and hands didn't look right. But there at it's hands and mouth was where Isaac saw what his body yearned for. Blood.

But there was something strange about the way the creature looked, something that instinctively told him it was not his enemy. It only stared into the light, light of a convenience store. Isaac panted in the darkness watching him, watching him… turn? Turn into… into Scott? Scott McCall? Isaac stared, but didn't know what to think. Instead, he followed Scott's line of sight as a door chimed. Stiles walked out and froze.

"Scott? Scott, are you okay?" He asked, and then the strange boy-creature fell to his knees. Stiles rushed over to him, and Isaac felt his heart rate slow, his mind feel less dumb. Everyone knew about Scott and Stiles, the best of friends, though the worst of lacrosse players. Isaac had always yearned for a friendship like theirs. "Scott, Scott, stay with me, what's-is that blood?" Isaac staggered forward, though Stiles didn't notice him. "Jesus, what happened to you?"

Scott's head swung forward when Stiles stopped holding it up, making the human fumble with his friend, trying to hold him up. "Okay, okay, hold on, let me get you out of-" Stiles stopped, staring at Isaac. "Hey." He said, though his body was as stiff as a deer caught in headlights.

Isaac tried to form words, but only stared.

" _Okay_ , I'm going to leave now." Stiles said, moving to do so.

"Wait." He finally croaked. "I-let me help you." He said, and suddenly rushed to Scott's side against Stiles' protests. Isaac wasn't sure why he suddenly felt this impulse, but he trusted it. His head began to spin at the smell of blood, but he managed to focus as he kept his eyes on Stiles who watched him with suspicion.

"He… he was painting." Stiles said, "A lot. With red. Red paint. He- it's for his art class."

Ignoring the lie, Isaac asked remembering the way Scott seemed to transform, "Is he okay? He looked… strange." In a way, Scott had reminded him of a wolf. They managed to get Scott into the passenger's side of Stiles' jeep. Isaac went to go buckle in Scott, but Stiles gripped the seat belt first.

"Yeah, he's fine, just really excited about school, you know? Good grades and all that, thanks anyway, goodnight." Stiles rushed the words out of his mouth as he went around the car and into the driver's side. He then leaned over Scott and slammed the door shut in Lahey's face before driving off.

Isaac stared as they did, feeling oddly relieved. He breathed in the night air and felt calm, free, and safe. Then he remembered his father. What he'd done. Isaac's face struggled between fear, regret, and frustration. He began to rub at his jaw again and made a sharp, agitated sigh. He sat at the curb of the sidewalk, trying to make sense of it all. He stood up and became lost in his thoughts, drifting in the night from one street to the next. Eventually he looked up and realized he was in front of his house. He stared at it with dread before noticing the car was gone. Dad wasn't home. Isaac let relief take him and slipped inside up to his room. Isaac felt a part of him inside whisper with a little hope that maybe his father would never come back.


	3. Chapter 3

The drive was familiar, passing by roads he'd grown up seeing from the back seat of his parent's car. He looked up from the passenger side to see his friend, his best friend, the person he might even trust most in this world, if he trusted anyone.

"-when we get back." Danny said, finishing his sentence.

"Why can't you just tell me now?" Jackson asked, looking at his friend now.

Danny breathed out lightly as he clenched his jaw. It was odd, seeing Danny hold back like this. Usually he was so open to talking. He was kind of sensitive to other people's emotions and was one of the only people Jackson felt comfortable talking to about his parents. Of course, Danny was always hesitant to talk about his family's superstitions, but this seemed different.

Jackson huffed and said, "Fine, whatever." He looked back out the window as Danny pulled up in his driveway. The blinds in one of the windows rushed open to reveal a little old woman with a fearsome scowl on her face, and then just as quickly closed.

"Who was that?" Jackson asked.

Danny breathed out a shaky sigh, seeming to hold back some irritation. "My grandmother." The side door swung open followed by a barrage of verbal violence on the two.

"What the hell?" Jackson asked, looking up at Danny who unlocked the doors numbly. "I thought you said she was your grandma."

"She _is."_

"-ack here again!" The old woman's yell became unmuffled as the driver's door swung open softly.

"Hi grandma." He said patiently.

"Hi grandma? _Hi grandma?_ I'm not your _grandmother,_ and you're not my _grandson._ Get _out_ of here, don't you ever come back- don't even _think_ about coming back here-"

Jackson stared as he came out of the passenger side of the door. "Danny…" He said, looking up at him, unsure of what to do.

" _Mom!"_ A woman yelled from inside the house. "Stop that! He's my son! Your _grandson!_ " Danny's mother came from the side of the house.

"Not _anymore,_ not now that he's become some kind of _monster."_ The old woman said, turning with an impassible anger. "I won't let him near my family." She said, turning towards Danny. "I always knew you were cursed to live out some kind of twisted fate like this-"

" _Mom!_ " Danny's mother said to his grandmother, rushing to her son's side. Danny stood there, holding back more anger than Jackson had ever seen him muster. He seemed to be fighting something within him. "Please stop this, it's not his fault and you know it! You've always said he was the sweetest boy you'd ever seen!" She said with tears in her eyes.

The old woman's lips quivered and her voice became hoarse, " _No!_ No I _never_ said that!" Tears streamed down her face. "I _hate_ him! He's not one of us!"

"Oh my god, _mom_ , please stop!" Danny's mom said, struggling to bring her mother's voice down as a neighbor walked out across the street. "Go back inside mom."

"Not if _he's_ coming in! Didn't you see what he did to his room? What if he did-"

"Mom! Go back inside!"

Jackson hesitated at the open car door. Should they just leave? But the stubborn lady went back inside, huffing and stomping as she did so.

"I'm so sorry sweetie." Danny's mom said, turning to face her child, holding his face as she did so. "I promise we'll find a way to stop this. We'll fix this. There's bound to be _someone_ who can help us. This won't be forever."

Danny didn't say anything. He didn't seem to care. Suddenly, as if realizing something, he looked his mother in the eyes and touched her hand. "Of course, mom." He said. She let her hand down and started to lead the two inside. Danny glanced at Jackson, his face tired and giving a weak smile. Jackson quickly shut the car door and went by his side as they walked in. They heard a huff from inside and a door slam shut.

Danny's mom turned towards the two boys. "I'm sorry Jackson, she's really very sweet… it's just that-what happened-" She glanced at her son, "It-it just took her by surprise. She'll calm down." His mom gulped as though she meant to convince herself as well as the two boys. Her eyes nervously drifted into the kitchen and she left them by themselves.

"Let's just go to my room for-I mean, the living room, for now." Danny said and walked away. Jackson followed and glanced around the house. It seemed pretty normal, despite this new unfamiliar tension. Sure, Jackson had seen a couple of heated arguments in this house, he used to be over all the time before he started dating Lydia. Now though, now it felt heavier, like something was really at risk here.

"What's going on?" Jackson asked as they sat on a cushioned chair next to Danny. "I thought you said your grandma spoiled you two."

Danny frowned, staring at the floor. "It's because of what happened. The bite. The were-the _thing_ that bit us last night."

"Okay? She-" Jackson remembered the way he'd transformed in the locker room mirror. "So she-" He remembered her calling Danny a monster. "Oh."

Danny chuckled. "Yeah."

There was a bit of silence before Jackson said. "So, what did you want to tell me?"

Danny took a breath before turning towards Jackson. "What bit us last night. It wasn't- it wasn't normal. It was a-a-" Danny looked up at the ceiling and then back at Jackson. "It was a _werewolf_." Danny almost spat out the word. His shoulders trembled as he clenched his fists. "Now we're one of them too."

"A werewolf. A werewolf? Are you-" Jackson remembered his reflection. He couldn't find the words to contradict what he had seen. "Like a real werewolf? I thought…" Jackson's heart began to race and his world seemed to slow. "I thought they weren't real."

"Jackson." Danny said, putting a hand on his friend's arm. "Stay with me, that's not all."

"What? What else-"

"The one who bit us, he's probably going to come back for us. I don't know if you felt him last night, but I did. He's strong. And, I think when we get angry, we transform. My grandma-" Suddenly, he glanced to his side, but then urged his words forward, "she thinks we're going to start wanting to kill people and stuff. She said it's in our nature." He started to grow a faraway look. "And maybe we will."

"What? Danny, what the hell, why would we kill anyone?"

"Jackson, you haven't transformed yet. Not _really_. You don't know what it's like, what you become."

"I know _you,_ and you wouldn't kill anyone."

"My family knows me too, and they're smart enough to know that I might."

Jackson stared at the man in front of him. Was this really the Danny he knew? "Danny… you would _never_ kill someone." Jackson said, touching Danny's wrist. "You're the kindest person I know, and you've put up with a lot of my stubborn bullshit." He said.

Danny pulled away, "You don't know _everything_ Jackson."

Jackson glared at Danny in disbelief. "The only thing I don't know is what's up with your superstitious family, but you've basically told me everything-"

"That's why you don't know everything. Jackson. My family? The whole superstitious thing? It's a whole part of me you've never known. You don't know me. No one knows me. Now I'm just some _monster_ , a _werewolf."_ Danny suddenly looked overwhelmed, failing to make eye contact as his chest rose and fell in big, panicked breaths. Jackson stared, not knowing what to do. Usually _he_ was the one being calmed down. Danny looked up at Jackson, as if asking for help, but at Jackson's gaping face, he seemed to gain the control to calm himself down. "Sorry, I just…" Danny couldn't seem to find the words.

Jackson stammered, "No-I-well, I mean, yeah, this is weird, this is pretty weird. We're uhm, we're like werewolves. That's… fucked up." Jackson said, looking around the room nervously. He felt dread swim through his chest as he thought about his parents finding out.

Danny laughed with equal nervousness. "Yeah." Around the corner and down the hall, they could hear a door opening and slamming and then another door opening and slamming as Danny's grandmother moved through the house. "Maybe we should go for a walk."

"Yeah." Jackson said.

Xxx

Stiles snuck up to Scott's house nervously. None of the lights were on. Maybe that meant Scott's mom wasn't home yet. Maybe that was for the best. Stiles looked around quickly from the driver's seat and tried to shake Scott awake. He heard his friend moan, but he couldn't rouse him up.

Stiles sighed as he hopped out the jeep. He went to the porch this time and stood up on the railing that wrapped itself around the front of the house. He hoped the gutters wouldn't give way this time as he tried to pull himself up onto the roof of the porch. It was like getting up out of the side of the pool. Except the ground was slanted and didn't grip his clothes like concrete did. Instead, the grainy texture of the roof tiles let his arms slide sometimes, if he didn't get the right pressure on it. Lucky for Stiles, this wasn't his first time. Kicking at nothing as he struggled to get up, he finally made his way into Scott's wide open window. Making his way downstairs, he opened the front door.

Stiles sighed as he looked out at the car, his mouth slightly ajar as he squinted in the dark. He made his way over to his jeep and opened the passenger's side, making Scott fall out. "Wh-wh-" Stiles stammered as he reached out to catch Scott. Stiles looked at Scott, to see if he was okay, and then looked up, sighing. "Alright." He said to himself. Nervousness struggled against him as he tried to figure out the best way to carry Scott into the house. "God, you're heavy." He muttered to himself. He tried to shift Scott's weight to one side before he fumbled and fell. Immediately his hand went to catch Scott's head before they hit the ground. "Ow." Stiles groaned, sitting up. "What the hell happened to you?" Stiles asked his unconscious friend who was sprawled out on him. He tried not to worry, to think about why there was blood on his friend's hands and mouth, to think about why his friend was unconscious, why he found him in front of the convenience store like that. Who was that guy he'd seen? He looked familiar, like maybe he was from their school? Stiles glared at his tires distractedly before realizing he still needed to get Scott back into the house. Turning, he tried to pull Scott onto his back, piggyback style. Maybe this would work? He almost stumbled back on the ground as he tried to stand up, but quickly gained his balance and headed into the house. He didn't bother going up the stairs to Scott's room and let Scott slide off him and onto the couch.

"Jeez, Scott." Stiles said breathlessly. He stared at his friend and grimaced. Scott was alright, right? Stiles went into the kitchen and looked for something to wipe up the blood with. It went against his instincts, after being brought up in a police family, but he didn't care. "Well at least the blood doesn't seem to be yours." He said in relief. "... What the hell Scott, did you eat a raw steak?"

Stiles looked up at the sight of headlights coming through the dark house's windows. Quickly, he stood and walked to the front door as Scott's mom shut her car door. "Scott? Is that you? What are you doing in the dark?" Stiles put his hands together with an awkward nervousness as he tried to think of something clever. "Stiles?"

Giving up, he said, "Hi, Ms. McCall."

"Hey Stiles, what are you doing?" She said, stopping at the porch stairs.

"Just…" Stiles thudded his hands against themselves as he thought. "On my way home. I-me and Scott, we were hanging out. He just-" he gestured in the house with his thumb, "fell asleep on the couch. Practice was tough so, I just let him sleep."

"Oh, well, that was nice of you, but you probably should have woken him up and told him to go sleep in his bed." Melissa said with a smile as she stepped onto the front porch.

Stiles blocked the door as he said, "Well-I mean, he was really tired and I didn't want to wake him, and like he's fine-"

"Uh huh?" Melissa said suspiciously.

"Yeah, like totally, he's just, practice, you know, we had to run all these laps because people didn't show up-"

From inside the house, a voice called out saying, "Stiles?"

Stiles spun on his heels and grinned widely at Scott. "Hey! You're up!" He gestured with his arms, releasing his relief and excitement and then letting his hand rush up and over his closely cut hair as he laughed nervously. " _You_ -" He almost yelled at Scott for scaring him, but instead laughed. "You okay?"

Melissa walked past Stiles into the house, "Goodnight Stiles."

"Goodnight, Ms. McCall." He called after her as she turned on the light, and then he turned back to Scott. "What happened?"

"What do you mean, what happened?"

"You like, I- I _found_ you in front of the convenience store. _Unconscious_ Scott."

Scott looked at Stiles in disbelief. "What do you mean? I haven't left my house. I was in my room…" Scott's voice drifted off as he wondered how he ended up in the living room.

"I don't know Scott, but you… you had _blood_ on your hands and like…" Stiles cringed before saying, "around your _mouth."_ His head made a circle as he said it and his fingers waved around his own mouth.

"What?"

"Yeah man, it was… it was, kinda gross actually. What were you doing?"

"Sleeping… I thought."

"Wow, well then you've got some weird sleep-walking habits."

"Blood?"

"... Yeah." Stiles put his hands in his pockets. "Well, don't worry about it too much, I guess. We'll figure it out." Stiles said, putting a hand on Scott's shoulder, trying to give his obviously shocked friend some comfort. "You okay?"

" _Not really_. Blood?" Scott said, stepping closer as if he'd be able to hear better if he did, and maybe he'd really just misheard Stiles.

"I don't know what to tell you. Do you want me to stay?"

"No, no, it's okay." Scott said, looking down at the ground. "Hey, I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay, you're sure?"

"Yeah, yeah." Scott said, trying to play off his worry. "See ya at school."

"Okay." Stiles said nervously. The door closed and Stiles stared at it for a while. Eventually he turned back to his car and headed home.

Xxx

Alison sat at her desk and looked over her book. She sighed over homework being assigned on the first day of school. With boredom wafting off the book, she flipped through the pages to see if she was near the end of her reading assignment. She looked back at the syllabus in disbelief that there was so much to read on the first day. Maybe there was a mistake? She went to her phone to ask Lydia before remembering that Lydia wasn't in her class. Alison thought then of the boy who sat in front of her.

He was nice. Kind of cute too. Plus he seemed pretty good at lacrosse. She grinned remembering their conversation at the clinic. Maybe they'd become friends? She smiled back into her book distractedly and hoped that she'd get to talk to him at school tomorrow.

There was a knock on her door. "Alison?" Her father's voice called from behind it.

"Yeah dad?" She said, turning from her desk in her seat.

The door slipped open and he took a step in. "Hey Alison, how was your first day of school?"

"Fine, what's up?"

"Well, nothing, can't I ask how school was?"

Alison sighed, "Yeah, well, it was nice. People are really friendly here." She said, pulling her sleeves down to her palms.

"That's good." He said, nodding as he walked in the room. "Listen so, I don't know if you've been watching the news-"

"I havent."

"-well, there's been some animal attacks reported. I just wanted to tell you to be careful."

"Okay dad." She said, turning back to her desk.

"Don't stay out late okay?"

She looked back up at him, surprised. "Yeah, sure dad." She said, thinking about the party Lydia had asked her to go to, but she wasn't that interested in going anyway. Still, who knows. "I might go out on Friday though, is that okay?"

"Well, for now, I'd prefer you stay at home."

"It's not like I'll be hanging out in the woods. It's at a friend's place-"

"Alison. Please."

She looked at her dad as if he were strange. "But-"

"Look, one day this will make sense, but for now, can you just listen to me? Please?" He asked her.

Alison sighed and turned back to her homework. He was always like this. 'One day this will all make sense.' It was basically his catch phrase. Mom said it too sometimes. Her parents would say it whenever they'd say things that didn't make sense, and Alison wondered if they just said it to justify telling her "no" whenever they wanted to.

She heard the door quietly close behind her and she scoffed at her book. A bit of rebellion stirred up in her as she wondered if she should just go to the party anyway.

Xxx

Isaac walked into school wondering if people could tell that his jaw was slightly swollen. "I didn't even hit you that hard." His father had said to him on his way out. Isaac had noticed a hospital bill on the kitchen counter but didn't ask about it. He didn't look at his father's face, the bruised jaw from where he'd punched him. What if he looked in his eyes and suddenly all the rage burst out of his father again? He could already feel the walls of the icebox closing in on him as he walked through the hallway at school.

School. The place where he was safe for a little bit. With school back in session, his father would be coaching the swim team again. He wondered what his dad would say about his swollen jaw. Isaac grinned a little with pride at the thought of his father struggling to explain how it happened.

"Maybe you should join the swim team." He'd said this morning.

"I'm on the lacrosse team." Isaac quickly said, zipping up his bookbag.

"Yeah, but, wouldn't you rather be on the swim team? With me?" His father had said, leaning over the counter as if he were some predator preparing to pounce on him. At his son's silence he leaned back up. "It would be like when you were little, and I used to take you to the pool. Remember that? You were so cute and sweet, not like you are now." Isaac still didn't say anything. He struggled to hold back his trembling. He hated feeling this way. He hated feeling weak. Gripping his fist, he remembered the sensation of punching his father. He had felt strong. Powerful. Free. For an instant. "You listening to me?"

"Yeah."

"Make sure to come home on time okay? I'll be back early. I think you got a little confused the other day. I hope your time downstairs helped clear your head." He said cooly. "But just to make sure."

Isaac looked up at his father's eyes then, trying to read them before quickly glancing down. He heard the threat in his father's voice and saw the cocky smile that lay in Mr. Lahey's stern eyes, though he tried to hide it behind his tight lips.

Quietly, Isaac sat at his desk and waited for class to start. He glanced out the door as Alison passed by. He didn't know her, and neither really noticed each other. Isaac was about to look back down at his desk when Scott passed by with Stiles at his side. Instantly, Isaac sat up as he remembered last night. Well, the two seemed alright. His body relaxed in relief, but his mind stayed wound up, his thoughts drifting back to his teammates. Curiosity lingered in his mind and he wanted to get to know them better.

Xxx

After school, Jackson, Danny, and Isaac got an earful from coach who complained about them skipping practice yesterday. "What, did you get in a fight?" He yelled at Isaac.

"No, it was an accident." Isaac said in his practiced, nonchalant voice.

Jackson glanced at Isaac who was next to him and then back at coach. "I'm sorry, I had an emergency and Danny was helping me, that's why we skipped."

"An emergency? Are you okay?" Coach asked.

"Yeah, I just-" Jackson tried to think of any excuse, but his mind went blank as he suddenly remembered the fact that now he was a werewolf and his entire being was changed.

"We-" Danny tried to intervene but coach quickly interrupted.

"Did someone die?" The two boys immediately tried to respond before coach waved his hand, "Nevermind, don't tell me. Look, I know you two wouldn't skip practice on purpose, just get out on the field and be inspirational or something. And do 10 laps, I promised the team you three would do it when you came back."

They all headed out onto the field as the team warmed up for a scrimmage game. Alison and Lydia watched from the bleachers again. As the team started to gather, coach began to pump up his players letting them know that he'd be watching the game to figure out who was going to be on the starting line this season. To everyone's surprise, Scott was doing exceptionally well on the playing field. But, he wasn't the only one whose skills seemed to improve. Stiles stared in disbelief as Isaac, the guy he now recognized from last night's convenience store encounter, weaved his way past his teammates as well. Did everyone just get better? He made a mental note to talk to Isaac after practice. Stiles scoffed as Jackson outshined everyone, as usual. A couple times, Stiles could see Danny coming up to Jackson just as he'd be at his peak or start to get on edge with some of the other players. Stiles sat impatiently on the bench wondering why his skills weren't getting better too.

He looked over at Scott again and suddenly he didn't think of Scott as just getting better. Sure, Stiles had practiced with Scott over the summer but… well Scott was getting around defenders in ways Stiles didn't think were possible for him. And… did he just summersault his shot into a goal? Stiles thought about the bite Scott had mentioned, the way Scott had passed out so strangely the night before, and remembered joking earlier that Scott might be a werewolf and started to wonder if maybe Scott really was. Suddenly, his urgency to talk to Isaac became stronger.

Coach announced that Scott and Isaac had made the cut. Of course, Danny and Jackson had too, but that wasn't a surprise. Scott headed over to Stiles with the biggest grin, but he waved him off and told him he'd talk to him after practice. Scott thought it was weird but headed into the locker room. When Isaac started to walk past Stiles, he stopped him.

"Hey, what's your name? Isaac right?"

"Yeah, hey, how's Scott?"

Stiles narrowed his eyes and clenched his jaw. "Fine, he's fine-listen, don't worry about him, okay? He's just your teammate, and last night-"

"When he was painting?" Isaac said sarcastically, getting the sense that Stiles was telling him off.

Stiles pursed his lips and nodded in annoyance. "Yeah. You know what, nevermind. Just don't tell anyone, okay?" Stiles said and walked away.

Isaac looked after him in confusion and slight annoyance, but decided to ignore it. He sighed thinking he might not get to hang out with the two after all.

After doing some research, Stiles told Scott to come over and tried to explain his theory on Scott's sudden skills.

"A werewolf?"

"Yeah, I mean, your speed, your reflexes, people can't suddenly do that overnight." Stiles told him. "And there's the vision, the senses, don't think I haven't noticed you don't need your inhaler anymore." Scott seemed like he was about to interrupt before Stiles said, "The blood?"

"Th-that doesn't prove _anything_. You're talking about a _werewolf_. Those don't exist Stiles."

"Well, look, just, stay over tonight, okay?"

"What- why?"

"Tonight-it's the full moon."

Scott rolled his eyes. "I'm not gonna turn into a werewolf-"

"You will-and even if you don't, who cares, it's not like you're doing anything tonight, right?"

Scott sighed. "No, but I'm not gonna have you _watch_ me either."

"Just-" Stiles closed his eyes in frustration, "Just let me do this okay? I'm trying to help. You're cursed Scott. You know, and it's not like the moon is just gonna cause you to physically change. It just so happens to be when you're…" Stiles hesitated, remembering last night. "When your bloodlust will be at its peak."

Scott also thought of last night, remembering Stiles on his front porch telling him what he'd found on his hands and lips. "Bloodlust?"

"Yeah your…" Stiles avoided Scott's eyes. "Your urge to…"

"To what?" Scott asked, taking a step forward. He felt anger rising up in him. Stiles was wrong. He was wrong. There's no way he did that. He'd seen wrong, he-he was mistaken-he-

"Your urge to kill." Stiles looked up at Scott then and flinched back. Quickly he turned to the book on his desk and read out loud, "'Change can be caused by anger or anything that raises your pulse-'"

"I'm didn't kill anyone!" Scott yelled, making Stiles jump out of his chair as Scott stepped forward. Stiles leaned back over the desk, tucking his elbows in and bringing his hands up as Scott got up in his face. Rage surged through him and he felt the urge to punch something, but as he looked into Stiles' eyes, something calmed him. It were as if Stiles had become an anchor to hold him steady in his stormy anger. He took a step back from his startled friend. "I-I'm sorry."

Stiles' shoulders hung in the air. He looked at Scott's face, but couldn't bring himself to look him in the eyes.

"I… I didn't kill anyone." Scott said quietly this time, taking another step back and turning away from him. Stiles made a quick nod, but didn't say anything, his tongue pressed against the corner of his lip. "You have to believe me. I don't know what you saw but-"

"Yeah." Stiles said, looking away, biting on his words. "I don't know what I saw either."


	4. Chapter 4

Derek Hale paced over the floor again. The old, almost abandoned wood bent and creaked under his feet. He wasn't sure how many there were now. It was reckless to build up a pack so quickly in a town with a history like Beacon Hills. Not only was Laura dead, but now, whoever killed her had her power. Now... there was a new alpha.

What if he couldn't find this threat before it strengthened its betas? And it was hard to keep track of them. Derek knew that a boy named Scott McCall was one. That was easy to figure out, the kid kept wandering around suspiciously in the woods with his friend Stiles. And there was another that went to the cemetery near the woods sometimes. He'd come running around blindly in the night and then dashed back into town. Luckily Derek didn't have to intervene as he watched from behind a car. The boy had shifted back into human form on his own and then helped out Stiles and Scott. But Derek had heard of other animal attacks in town. Were they all bites? Were they all werewolves? And who was the mastermind behind it all?

With every new bite, Derek felt his home invaded. His safety threatened. He noticed that the hunters patrolled the woods more often now. It was only a matter of days before they attacked him directly. For generations, the Hale family had been the most powerful pack in Beacon Hills. For decades, they'd been the only ones. Now, Derek was _the_ only one and he wouldn't put it past the Argent hunters to lay the blame on him.

Except he wasn't the only one. He _had_ to control the other betas. He had to _find_ them first though, and he desperately needed to find this reckless alpha. Derek felt his anger build up in him as he pivoted, continuing his circular pace. He felt the urge to transform, but he held it back. Flaring his nostrils, he breathed in and out, keeping his calm and collected composure. It didn't matter if it wasn't fair. He couldn't change the fire, he couldn't change his sister Laura's murder. The only thing he could do was take back the alpha power of the Hale pack. With every beta, the alpha would get stronger… but if Derek could just get rid of the alpha and take the pack as his own… maybe things would finally turn around for him.

Xxx

The sound of plastic cups being shuffled around could be heard in the other room. There were only a few hours left before the party started.

"Hey did you notice…"

"About Scott?"

"-Yeah he-he's"

"He's amazing." Danny said.

"Yeah, but it doesn't make sense, like he isn't just good-" The click of heels made its way across the floor. Strawberry blond hair quietly bounced its way around a corner.

"I know."

"It's like, like he-"

"I know."

Lydia looked between Danny and Jackson as she entered the room, interrupting their conversation. "What? Scott got better. He also showed up to practice yesterday, unlike _you_ two." She narrowed her eyes at Jackson. "What kind of captain doesn't show up to the first day of practice? You want to be on the _losing_ team?" Danny looked away, but didn't say anything. She was always like this. Danny didn't understand why Jackson dated her. Look at the way he clenched his jaw. Or the way his claws-wait.

"Jackson." Danny grabbed Jackson's wrist.

Suddenly Jackson seemed to snap out of it, looking up at Danny in surprise. He pulled his arm away and took a step to her saying, "Look Lydia, maybe there are bigger things going on in my life right now than lacrosse."

"Really? Like what?" Lydia said, half laughing with disbelief, twirling her hair in her hand.

Jackson tried to hold down his anger with deep breaths that fumed in and out of him.

Lydia's smile began to creep up her face, a sense of control rolling over her. She took a step closer with pursed lips and said, "Just show up to practice Jackson. Don't screw it up. No one wants to cheer for the losing team. Now help me set up the keg." And then she took him by the arm and started walking, him following her as she did so. Danny sighed to himself as he watched them leave.

But it was strange. Scott wasn't just better. It wasn't natural. And Isaac was different too. Could there really have been so many attacks? Danny began to wonder if they knew more than he did about why this was happening to them.

Xxx

Stiles didn't say anything for a while. An awkward quietness began to fill the room.

"I didn't-"

Stiles quickly interrupted, not wanting to go through this again. "I believe you, alright? I know you wouldn't mean to kill anyone… on purpose."

"Really? You don't think I-"

"It was probably a rabbit or something." Stiles said, looking down at his desk pretending to look through an open book. "You wouldn't…" Stiles glanced up at Scott and then let his eyes run back to the pages.

"A rabbit? What would I do with a rabbit?"

Stiles looked up to narrow his eyes at Scott. "Eat it, duh."

"What- raw?"

"No, put it in your little werewolf oven and-yes of course raw!"

Scott unhappily swallowed and looked down at his hands.

Stiles watched him and felt compelled to say, "Look Scott, it doesn't matter," He straightened his spine and took a step towards him. "I've got your back. We'll figure this out, but you've got to trust me."

"No, I do. It's just… a werewolf?"

Stiles rolled his eyes. "Yes, a _werewolf_ Scott! Look-" He took another step towards Scott. "The full moon is out tonight, okay? So I need you to just… just trust me and stay in."

Scott heard his phone beep, indicating he had just gotten a text. "Yeah, sure, whatever." He felt uncomfortable with the surveillance. He just wanted things to be normal. Holding onto one arm awkwardly, he reached down into his backpack and pulled out his phone.

"Seriously." Stiles said.

"Stiles…"

"What?" Stiles perked up his head in interest at the change in Scott's voice.

"Look at this text… it's from Danny." This wasn't unusual despite Scott not really being friends with Danny. The lacrosse team had each other's phone numbers in case of an emergency, for last minute strategy changes, or any other lacrosse related reason. Some people just had coach's and the captain's number and didn't bother to save anyone else's numbers from the phone list, but most people listened to coach and saved everyone's numbers.

Stiles went up to Scott then, their shoulders touching as they read the text together.

Danny: Hey, good job at practice today. Did you train in the summer? Or did you get bit by some luck?

"Well… that could mean anything, really." Stiles said with an awkward smile, shrugging.

"Could it though? He was saying something weird in the locker room too. Him and Jackson were talking about a bite."

"What-like an animal bite? Or like your bite?"

"I don't know, but it was weird." There was another beep.

Danny: If you want, there's a party tonight. I'll send you the address and we can talk more there.

" _No_ , no, no." Stiles said, seeing the look in Scott's eye. "You are not going _anywhere_ tonight. You _can't_! Werewolf! Remember?" Stiles said in exasperation.

"Stiles, he might know something."

Stiles crossed his arms, "Doesn't matter, we're not going." He then jabbed Scott's chest with his finger, "You can't go! The _moon_ remember? Werewolf problems?"

"Yeah, but Danny will be there too, and he's not worried about-"

"He might not even be a werewolf!" Stiles said in exasperation, "It could have just been poor word choice!"

"Really? 'Get bit by some luck?' Who says that?"

"I don't know-Danny. Danny says that." Stiles said. "Anyway, you can't go. We-we have to figure out what to do when you'll change."

"I'm not gonna _change_."

"You _might._ And maybe this time it _won't_ be a rabbit."

"I-"

"Scott." Stiles gave him a hard look, and then put a hand on Scott's shoulder who puffed out an air of frustration and glared off at a corner of the room, shaking his head. "Look, I know that you don't want to believe that this is happening to you-"

"But-"

"Scott, you can't deny, even if you aren't turning into a werewolf, things have been weird lately. If you don't turn, great, then we get to stay in and hang out. It'll just be another night of us being weird." Stiles said with a chuckle.

"But what about this text?"

"What about it, Scott?"

Scott stared at Stiles and then shook his head. "Fine, I'll just tell him to come over then."

"No! You can't-what if you change while he's here?"

"Stiles-just let me do this!"

"No, give me the phone-"

"No- Stiles!" The human rigged it free from his friend and instantly he saw Scott's eyes turn an odd bright orangish-brown color. Stiles jumped back in surprise, the phone fumbling in his hands.

Scott immediately started to apologize. "No- I- I didn't mean-"

"You've _got_ to stop _doing that!_ " Stiles said impatiently, trying to calm down. "Look at your hands! They're- you've got fucking _claws_ for fingertips!"

"What?" Scott looked down at his hand then and sucked in a breath. "Oh shit."

"Now you believe me?"

The phone began to ring. Stiles looked up at Scott with an 'oh shit' face.

"Well, who is it?"

"Danny."

"Answer it."

Stiles squinted at Scott and shook his head, "I'm not gonna _answer_ it, are you- _no, no, no,_ Scott _don't!_ And you grabbed it." Stiles said in defeat.

Answering the phone, Danny's voice could be heard on the other end. "Hey. Sorry, I sent you a bunch of texts. The party's gonna get busy soon, so I wanted to make sure I heard back from you before it started."

"Yeah, I read them. Sorry I was just- I'm at a friend's place right now."

"Oh. Well, if you want, your friend can come over too."

"Uhm yeah, well, uhm… I'm not really sure if I should go out." Scott then glanced at Stiles and said, "The full moon and all those animal attacks, you know?"

Danny didn't answer for a while.

"Hello? You still there?" Scott said into the phone.

"Yeah, sorry I just- Did you, I mean, those animal attacks, do you know what kind of animal it was?"

"... No I just-" Scott glanced up at Stiles who was waiting with his arms crossed.

At Scott's glance, Stiles looked up impatiently, "What? What is he saying? Put it on speaker phone."

"Is someone else there?" Danny asked.

"Yeah, just Stiles- _stop_ , I'll do it."

"Alright, whatever." Stiles said.

"Don't put me on-" Danny started before Scott interrupted.

"I thought it might be a wolf."

The other line went quiet again. "Danny!" A voice said in the distance. Danny's voice could be heard replying, "I think he is."

"Who is?" The voice said.

The phone then sounded like it was being muffled before Danny's voice came back saying. "Sorry. Scott, I think you should come over."

Stiles grabbed the phone then, "Should you even be out?"

"What? Is that Stiles?" Danny asked.

"Yeah, and if you're trying to say what I think you're trying to say, then you really shouldn't be going to a party anyway."

There was some quiet. Danny could be heard saying, "I told you so."

The background voice said, "What, and not show up? Lydia would be even more suspicious. It's not like we weren't planning on leaving early anyway."

"Lydia? Is that Jackson?" Stiles said with annoyance.

"Yeah moron, you sure you know what you're talking about?"

"Yeah, so just, I don't know, ditch the party or something."

"I can't just _ditch_ okay? It's the first party of the school year-"

"Oh my god, are you hearing yourself? You're a-" Stiles suddenly stopped midsentence.

"A what?" Jackson asked, daring him to go on.

Stiles looked up at Scott then who shrugged a 'I don't know what to do.' "Whatever, we're not coming." Stiles said, about to hang up.

"Fine, where are you?"

"What?"

"Where are you?" Jackson said, his voice lathered with annoyance.

"What-like you'll come over?"

"Duh asswhipe, where are you?"

"Uh…" Stiles glanced over at Scott who nodded. "I'm just at my place." Stiles said, scratching at the back of his head, and then gave Jackson and Danny his address.

Xxx

Alison walked in by herself. She didn't really know anyone, which was why she didn't really want to go in the first place, but now she was here wondering why she left. Her eyes searched for Lydia, or maybe any other familiar face from class who might be friendly enough to talk to her. She remembered then, her neighbor in her literature class, and the guy from the animal clinic, Scott. But it was Lydia who she found first and she looked pissed. She was having an argument with her boyfriend and someone else who looked familiar but Alison didn't think she knew. Maybe she'd go talk to Lydia later. So Alison walked around the party aimlessly looking for something to do or someone to talk to. Eventually she found herself in the backyard. She looked down at the pool and around at the red solo cup sea of people.

Suddenly Lydia burst into the backyard, anger spilling from her face. As Alison was just about to approach her, Lydia straightened her back and regained her composure and headed for a drink. Alison followed her and said, "Hey! I came."

"Oh, hey Alison." Lydia said disinterestedly. "What happened to family night?"

"I… didn't feel like going. My dad- You looked like you were having some argu-"

Lydia looked up with a glare and suddenly Alison felt like maybe she shouldn't have brought it up.

"Uhm, nevermind, you probably don't want to talk about it."

Lydia shook her head in a pompous sort of way and leaned back, taking a swig from her cup. "No, it's fine. Just Jackson, you know? He's being weird lately. And he left the party. Early. Like _really_ early. Maybe I should dump him."

Alison raised her eyebrows and took a cup for herself.

Lydia went on saying, "It's just, he's supposed to be, like, perfect. And he _was_. He listened to me, he was captain of like, _the best_ lacrosse team. He's smart. Now he's just… I don't know."

"Maybe he's just having a bad day?"

"It's not just one day." Lydia said, glancing up at Alison with a judgemental glare. She looked back down at her cup. "Well, whatever." She tossed her hair over her shoulder. "Let's just go have fun." Lydia said with a mischievous smile. "And I can introduce you to some new friends."

Alison grinned, feeling a bit unsure, but followed Lydia's hand into the red sea of drunken friends yet to be made.

Xxx

Isaac sat in front of his screen, absorbed in Call of Duty. He wasn't thinking about anything in particular, just focused on his kills. He wondered if his brother's training was like this. Suddenly his health started getting low with blood littering the sides of his screen. He'd been killed.

He let out a sigh and released his hands from the controller, stretching them. Glancing down at his fingers, he remembered that adrenaline rush he felt last night. Then he remembered Scott in the light of the convenience store. It was weird. He'd never seen anything like that before. Isaac looked out the window and remembered the way Stiles had talked to him today.

Well it didn't matter. The screen indicated that he'd respawned. He stopped thinking about them and let his mind focus on the game again. He wouldn't care. He didn't need them. He didn't need anybody. He never did.

Xxx

Derek waited outside of Stiles' house. In the shadows of creeping night under a tree, he glanced back up at the moon. The alpha had to reach out to them eventually, otherwise, what was the point of making a pack? Derek began to wonder if he should be more concerned about Stiles' life right now. At least the sheriff wasn't home, Derek thought with relief.

He was surprised at Stiles figuring it out so quickly. Derek made a mental note to be careful around that human as he remembered overhearing Scott and Stiles' conversation when he had crept over to spy on them earlier. At least the human seemed trustworthy. But then again, humans could be deceptive, Derek thought, remembering someone he once loved.

At the sight of headlights coming towards the house, Derek treaded backwards, deeper into the trees, but not so far that he couldn't see the road. The car rolled to a stop, pulling up in front of the house. Derek watched the doors as they opened and closed and saw two boys approach Stiles' house. They looked to be about the same age as Scott, maybe a year older or so. At least one of them had that cocky aura of an upperclassman. The other had a calmer mature air about him.

Derek watched as they rang the doorbell. The porchlight turned on and the door opened. With a sense of unease, Derek looked on as they walked in the house. Feeling unsettled, Derek crept closer to the house. Through the walls he heard the boys' voices.

"We… we want to talk about..."

"The bite." That sounded like it might be the cocky one. "You've been acting weird _McCall._ Don't think we haven't noticed."

"Yeah, but we're not trying to get on your case. You… you got bit too right?"

"What, by luck?" A sarcastic voice answered that Derek recognized as Stiles.

" _Stiles._ " Another said. That sounded like it might be Scott. "I think I heard you two talking about a bite?"

Derek perked up his ears in interest. Was one of them turned too?

"Yeah… we-" There was a pause, and Derek leaned closer.

The cocky one spoke up then, "Were you bitten or not?"

"... I was."

"By what?"

Another pause. "Well, it could have been anything really. Like something with rabies or-" Scott said.

"Why do you want to know?" Stiles interrupted. "Were you bit too?"

"Were _you?_ " The cocky one said again.

" _No._ "

"Then why are you even here?"

Derek could hear a huff and smelled the annoyance wafting off Stiles' skin. Derek expected him to say something snarky in return, but the calm voice said, "Was it a werewolf?"

The room went silent.

"Wait, you believe it too?" Scott said.

"Believe it? We're living it." The calmer voice replied.

"Great, we're all just fucking werewolves now." The cocky one muttered.

"I'm not." Stiles said, his sarcastic grin apparent in his voice.

"Want me to make you one?" Jackson said, threateningly stomping a foot towards where Derek thought Stiles might be. Stiles' footsteps could be heard shuffling backwards.

"We came because we wanted to know if you knew who bit us or why." The calm voice said.

Derek put a hand to the wall of the house then. The yellow light from inside draped itself over the bushes from a window just out of reach of him.

"No… I don't know anything. I thought it was just random or something. I didn't really think about it." Scott said.

"Do you know if Isaac was bit too?" The calm voice said.

"Isaac? Why him?" Stiles said.

"Didn't you see him at practice? No one gets as good at lacrosse as quickly as he did… except you, Scott." The calm voice said.

"Yeah… I guess it was weird." Scott said. "But maybe he just practiced a lot during the summer. Ugh."

Derek looked up as a car started to come down the road.

"Doubt it… You okay?" Stiles said.

Quickly, Derek ducked into the darkness.

"Yeah, I just feel kind of weird. Why us though?" Scott said.

The leaves rustled in the wind as the car passed by the house.

"I don't- ugh."

Nothing interesting.

"Woah, Danny are you o-" Stiles said. Suddenly the room was filled with groans of discomfort.

 _Oh._ Derek thought, looking up at the moon. Quickly, Derek walked to the front door and checked to see if it was locked. "What's happening?" Scott yelled. "I feel like I'm gonna be sick." Luckily it opened freely.

"I-I-I think you're changing- _Scott_ you're changing! Oh, you're _all_ changing! Right, because you're werewolves. I have three werewolves in my house on a full moon. Oh my god. I'm gonna die." Stiles said, defeat in his voice "No," His voice cracked. "It'll be ok. I'll… I'll just leave and lock the door. My dad-I-I'll figure it out, but don't leave- just don't leave ok?" He rushed to the front door, promptly bumping into Derek. "Uh… hello?"

"Hi Stiles."

"You know my na- wait you have to leave. You- we can't be here right now."

"No Stiles. _You_ can't be here right now." Derek said, putting a hand on Stiles' shoulder and walking past him.

"No, you don't understand you _really_ can't be here right now."

Derek ignored him and walked up to the confused teenagers trying to sort out their transformation. "Listen to me. You can get through this. Just let go and feel it out, don't fight it, _control_ it."

Stiles watched, his mouth gaping open as he started to realize what this meant. "Oh my god. They're everywhere." But then something else came to mind as he realized the experienced ability Derek had. Stiles couldn't find any doubt. Derek _had_ to be the one who bit them.

Xxx

Isaac loosely went down the stairs. The hospital bill wasn't on the counter anymore. He pulled up a cup of water. The front door opened and his father walked in.

"Hey, son. How was school?" He asked as he put down the book he used to keep track of his athletes. Isaac glanced at his father's purple jaw before Mr. Lahey looked over at him. Coach Lahey must have had a good practice to be in such a cheerful mood. Maybe his team was especially gifted this year. It wouldn't surprise Isaac with his own talent rising out of nowhere.

"Fine." Isaac said, starting to walk away. As he did so, Mr. Lahey went to grab a cup of water, the smell of chlorine invading the kitchen. Maybe his father's good mood would protect him tonight.

"Where you going? Don't want to talk to your old man?"

Isaac stopped. Tension built up in his muscles and he could feel his heartbeat slowly rise. He turned around nervously and tried to look anywhere but at his father's face.

"You don't look too good, son. Everything okay?"

"Yeah. I was just-I was thirsty so I got some water." He said, his free hand clutching his other arm.

"Well that's good. It's important to stay hydrated." At some silence, Mr. Lahey smirked and chuckled, making Isaac feel small even as he tried to be strong. It made Isaac so unhappy how even the smallest things could affect him so strongly. "How's that lacrosse thing going for you?"

"Uh… it's good-"

"Look me in the face like a man, you look like a nervous wreck like that."

Isaac felt saliva building up in his mouth and tried to meet his father's eyes, praying he wouldn't accidentally glance at his father's jaw. He swallowed hard despite his own resistance. He didn't need to glance down to see how swollen Mr. Lahey's jaw was.

"Now…" Mr. Lahey said. "Tell me about lacrosse."

Xxx

"Stiles. Now." Derek commanded, looking over his shoulder at the human who gaped at him.

Stiles felt the impulse to obey, and with the uncomfortably high population of uncontrollable werewolves in his house, it might be in his best interest to listen. But Stiles glanced at Scott and then back to Derek. He wanted to know more, and he didn't know if he could trust the mysterious Derek Hale.

"Suit yourself." Derek said. Stiles stared from the doorframe. "But close the door. Sorry if your place gets ruined. Scott, stop trying to fight it, just let it happen."

"What if I hurt someone-I don't want to wake up with blood on my hands!" Scott yelled, his hands over his head as he tried to hold off the transformation, feeling more sick the longer he held out.

Danny glared up at Derek. " _You did this to us!"_ Danny yelled, charging at Derek, his face taking on a new shape as claws extended from his fingertips.

"Watch the lamp!" Stiles called from behind a wall he peeked his head around. "Or not." He said as Derek crashed into it.

Derek got up and shrugged off the shards of broken glass.

"I'm pretty sure that's toxic." Stiles muttered at the crushed lightbulb. Quietly, he went to close and lock the door at the sound of another passing car. Quickly he rushed back to his spot and looked at the windows to see if the blinds were closed. They weren't. "Of course." He muttered. Nervously, he looked back at the werewolves and decided he didn't really want to get close enough to close the blinds. He checked to see that his keys were in his pocket before leaving the house to find something to cover up the windows with. He didn't trust Derek but he also knew that no one could know about this.

"That was cute." Derek said, and gently threw Danny into a wall, trying not to break Stiles' house down completely. It was probably best not to damage the sheriff's house. Derek paused as Jackson stared with wide eyes at Danny who slumped against the wall briefly before getting up. But would Derek really have to deal with it? Who was going to be the one to explain what happened here?

Jackson rushed to Danny's side, but Danny brushed him off. Jackson stared wide-eyed at Danny. He'd never seen him like this before. Danny yelled, but it transformed into a roar as he did so. Was this what Danny meant when he said the bite changes people?

Derek squinted unhappily. It wasn't like his sister's murder. You couldn't pretend that wolves had come in and destroyed every piece of furniture and tossed children into the walls. Well maybe you could, but it'd be harder to convin-

Danny charged into Derek again, who moved out of the way for Danny to bump head first in the wall. At the sound, Derek glanced back and noticed a small indentation in it. Derek nodded, impressed at the durability of the house.

-ce anyone. Would it be best to take everyone into the woods for a late-night training session? Oh right, the hunters. Derek rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. He couldn't have the children die so quickly, not before he turned alpha. Where was the alpha anyway? Did he really not care that it was his beta's first night under the full moon? Well better for him. Maybe he'd bond with them and they'd be a nic-

"Stop. Moving." Danny said, before trying to charge into Derek again. This time Derek slammed him into the ground, pushing his head down. Danny made a grunting sound, which urged Jackson to step in for a punch. Suddenly Jackson was rushed by a strong wave of moon juice that overwhelmed and disoriented him. He grew dizzy and lost his balance before failing to land his punch and toppled over Danny.

-e little obedient pack. Derek smiled at the thought of that. Of course, to Scott it looked like Derek was smiling at how weak everyone was. Scott winced, as he looked down, trying again to focus on staying human. He wasn't going to kill anyone.

"Scott, you need to relax. You won't wake up with blood on your hands." He paused. "Well, you might, but you haven't killed anyone if that's what you're worried about. At least, not anyone human. Yet."

"What?" Scott asked, looking up with desperate eyes. In his lapse of concentration, he felt his face contort and take shape. "Ugh- _no!_ "

Xxx

"Yeah, those scum." A man who Chris Argent knew as Jack said in the passenger side. In the backseat was a crossbow along with other weapons. Some were traps, others were maiming items.

"But it's strange that we haven't seen Derek tonight. I want to send him a message." Mr. Argent said, gripping the steering wheel. A car followed closely behind him as it normally did. "There's something strange happening. We don't need another uprising."

The man in the passenger side chuckled. "As if that would ever happen. Our technology and weapons are even better than the first time we did this, and I was just a kid then."

Chris Argent chuckled and said, "True, my dad was pretty dangerous then. Still is probably."

The man to his side shook his head as he was reminded of the legendary pack that once lived in Beacon Hills. "We shouldn't have let him live-"

"We've gotta stick to the code." Chris said, picking up on Jack's change of direction.

"Yeah, but look what's happened now."

"We don't _know_ that it was him. There might not be any new wolves."

The man scoffed in disbelief. "So what, you think it's really just animal attacks?"

"Listen, all I'm saying is, if we don't have to start a little war in Beacon Hills, it's better for everyone. That's why I just want to give Derek a warning for now. When we investigate a bit more… then we'll see what happens."

The man shifted around in his seat, dissatisfied. "What's that kid doing?"

"What kid?" Chris looked up the road to see a boy who looked to be about Alison's age. He seemed to be trying to put stuff over a window of a house. It looked like maybe he was taking a foldable chair and leaning it across the windowpane. "Uh… good question." Chris said with a chuckle.

"Is he playing a prank?"

"I don't know, want to check it out?" He asked as he got closer to the house, slowing down just enough so he wouldn't pass it before Jack answered.

The passenger seat went quiet for a while.

"It's now or never." Argent looked up at Jack just as one of the uncovered windows had something flicker past it from within the house. The boy, glanced around and jumped at the sight of the cars, and rushed to the other window, trying to spread his arms over it. Immediately he tried to create a casual looking pose. "Well?"

Jack looked up from the dashboard. "No, we should focus on finding the other werewolves. We don't want anyone else to get bit tonight."

Chris nodded and turned back to face the road, glancing at the boy as the headlights passed over him. The car behind him honked as they drove past the house. Chris looked in the rearview mirror to see the safety lights blinking. Mr. Argent pulled over two houses down from the strange teenager. He rolled down his window as the car behind him opened it's driver's door.

"Hey." A man Chris recognized as Steve said.

"Hey, what's going on?" Chris asked, looking up at him, leaning an elbow against the car door.

"There's something weird about that house down the road."

Chris laughed and nodded, looking back at Jack who smiled back. It wasn't a real smile, more like one of those polite ones people make when waiting for something to be over. Jack looked out his window, looking for any movements in the trees.

"Yeah we saw." Chris said, turning back to Steve. "Why, you think it's something we should worry about?"

"I don't know, I just saw something in the window and thought we might as well should check it out."

"Something? Like what?" Argent asked, his interest perking up.

"I don't know, but it was fast."

The car went quiet. "Well, I guess it doesn't hurt to check."

Xxx

Isaac sat in his room. He was angry and restless. He wasn't sure why he was angry. When he thought about his conversation with his dad, he didn't really seem mean. It just felt mean. Was he overreacting? His dad did seem to be in a good mood after all. Isaac pressed a hand to his head, a strange feeling washing over him.

He decided he didn't care. It took too much energy to try to understand his dad. "Ugh." He said at the strange tingly feeling that came from his mouth. "Augh." He felt his teeth shift, but it oddly didn't hurt. "Ah-" He felt like gagging from the headrush that came at him. He cursed, not sure of what was happening and in denial that his teeth could have actually just extended like that. Isaac tried to stand and immediately felt dizzy. His head rushing at himself with the sensation of falling forward as he stood still. "Oh." He muttered and sat back down. "No.." He mumbled to himself, shaking his head. Maybe he just needed some fresh air. He walked over to the window in his room and opened it, the cool air draping over his skin like a soothing blanket. The moonlight gently kissed his face and he felt himself relax. His fingers grew claws and he felt that strange sensation again, like his face was changing, but this time he was conscious enough to notice it. He let his fingers feel his eyebrows that arched over his eyes. Isaac suddenly remembered the way Scott had looked that night in front of the convenience store. His heart quickened as confusion ruptured through him. What was happening to him?

There was a knock on his door, making Isaac jump.

"Hey son, one more thing."

Without thinking, Isaac pounced out of his room and into the night.

Xxx

Stiles ripped off the last piece of duct tape fastened over the cardboard cover for the window. He tapped the cardboard and was satisfied when it didn't shift under his hand. Glaring suspiciously at the chair he'd put over the window next to it, he decided that the extra piece of cardboard he had would be a better fit, considering the chair still revealed parts of the window. Before he did so, he looked over down the road again. The cars he'd seen earlier sounded like they'd pulled over down the road. As his head went over, he jumped back in surprise as two people stared at him. Gripping his heart in surprise, he rushed back into the house just as a loud thud erupted from inside.

"Guys, shut up! What if someone calls the cops-" Stiles began as he walked in, closing the door behind him. As he turned around, he saw the three little werewolves strewn about on the floor, panting and glaring up at Derek. A couch was on its side and a picture frame on the wall was now on the ground, glass scattered around it. "Are you serious?" Stiles said, almost in a whimper as he cowered closer to the door. He lips quivered as he looked up at the ceiling praying he'd make it through the night. "Derek, you said you'd _help_ them." He whined.

"I am. Look, they're starting to get the hang of it." Derek said looking over his shoulder and then back at the werewolves. "Feels better, doesn't it? And where normal humans would be bruising, you don't even feel sore. Nice, isn't it." It wasn't a question.

" _No._ " Scott and Danny yelled at Derek defiantly with disgust. They both glanced at each other in surprise.

"The bite is a gift. I can help you-"

" _I didn't ask for this!"_ Danny yelled. Scott moaned unhappily with his hands pressed against his head. "I _never_ wanted any of this-"

"You will-"

" _No!_ I _won't!_ My family has always hated your kind! You're disgusting and vile and cruel! The hunters should have exterminated you in that fire." Danny said. _Damn_. Stiles thought. Jackson stared at Danny in surprise. Danny panted and his eyes seethed with anger, brimming with hot tears. Jackson felt the urge to reach out to him, his clawless fingers stretching to touch Danny's shoulder.

Derek gripped his fists. He walked up to Danny. The werewolf's eyes flashed blue as he squatted in front of Danny. Jackson's head spun toward Derek defensively. Through gritted teeth, Derek said "It's not 'your kind' anymore." He paused, letting that sink in, watching the lines in Danny's face shift from rage to horror. "It'll never be that way again, and if you want learn how to control yourself so you don't become 'disgusting, vile, and cruel' then you better shut up and do what I say." Danny said nothing but glared at Derek. "What? You want to kill me? Go ahead and try. It's not like you've been able to hit me once this whole time."

Scott felt like he could be sick, and finally let go. He groaned, rolling onto his back as his body finally fully shifted. "There you go." Derek said, standing up to walk over to Scott. "That feels better, doesn't it?" He said with a know-it-all mentality. "If you'd let go earlier, you might have been more in control of yourself like Danny is now." Derek said, glancing back at Danny who wasn't attacking Derek at the moment, though he still looked like a werewolf. Danny turned away, glaring over in Stiles' general direction without really intending to. Stiles winced away anyway.

The doorbell rang. The three new werewolves covered their ears and flinched away from the noise. "Don't answer it." Derek warned.

"Hello?" A voice said from outside. Stiles saw Derek's face flash with frustration as he seemed to recognize it. "Mind if we come inside?"

"Don't. Move." Derek said through gritted teeth.

The door started to knock and the doorbell rang again, making the three boys moan.

"I can hear you in there." The voice said.

Derek spun on the boys and said, "Go hide. Now." Noticing a staircase he said, "Upstairs."

"Why?" Danny challenged.

"Because you're a fucking werewolf now and no one can know about it." Derek said, shoving his face into Danny's personal space. "Or do you want everyone in on what a disgusting creature you are?"

Danny glared at Derek, but headed up the stairs. Jackson quietly followed Danny's lead into helping carry Scott between their shoulders. Jackson kept his eyes attentive as he did so with Derek trailing closely behind them. Stiles walked to watch them go upstairs as he heard something clatter behind him by the window.


	5. Chapter 5

**[I used to do this thing where I would rewatch episodes or specific scenes and try to make sure these fit as closely with the storyline as possible except for the parts that would be altered by the changes made, but like -_- that's probs not happening anymore. So if you liked the parts where I just made shit up, you're gonna get more of it. If not… I mean I'll look at the Teen Wolf wiki sometimes probably.]**

"This house right?"

"Yeah, I'm not sure what I saw… it could have been nothing, but… with these attacks…"

"No, it's good to check it out even if it is nothing." Mr. Argent lowered his voice as they approached the door and attempted to speak to the people inside.

At hearing some groans, Steve looked over at the window. Across the glass was cardboard and duct tape and resting on the window pane was a foldable chair. Well, it wasn't like they really needed to get inside, they just needed to confirm that there was nothing wrong here. Quietly he removed the chair and rested it against the side of the house. As he started to peel away the duct tape, the chair fell to the ground with some noise. Steve stilled to hear if anyone had noticed and sure enough there were footsteps rushing towards him on the other side. Quickly he ripped off the cardboard only to find a curtain swinging over the view.

Loudly, someone whispered from inside, "Did you hide all the booze? No, keep the music off, they haven't left yet."

 _Huh?_ Steve turned to Jack who was grinning and shaking his head. _But, I didn't hear any music when we approached the house._

"Let's go," Jack said, putting an arm around Steve. "They're just being kids."

"Wait, but something's off-" Steve said with a concerned frown.

"We don't have time for this." Jack said with a smile though his eyes looked empty and seemed to struggle against anger.

Steve turned to Chris who seemed to have lost interest. "Wait-but something's strange. There wasn't any-"

In the distance an unmistakable howl rose up into the night making the hunters still before rushing to their cars.

Xxx

"Are they gone?" Jackson whispered.

"Listen." Derek said at the head of the stairs, watching Stiles feet below who was waiting by a window. Stiles whispered loudly.

"What?" Scott tried to whisper back before Derek and Danny put their hands over his mouth, startling each other. Quickly they drew their hands back.

"Be quiet." Derek whispered. Danny crossed his arms.

"Wow, I'm surprised that worked." Derek said.

Jackson asked, "What? Us hiding?"

Derek's frown deepened, "I told you to listen- not with your human ears. You have to listen with-"

"We're not _like_ you Derek." Danny seethed, to which the seasoned werewolf shook his head.

"Just because you want to ruin your chances of learning how to control yourself, doesn't mean everyone else should suffer the same fate." Derek said.

"No, we won't be sharing the same fate, not _your_ fate."

Derek looked Danny straight in the eye as if he were tired of having to hear every word that came out of this kid's mouth. Jackson turned to Danny with concern and then turned back to Derek, "Yeah, fuck you and whatever your creepy plans are. We didn't ask for this. How do we know you're not the one who bit us?"

And then they heard a howl. Derek immediately shot up. Without looking at them as he rushed to a window he said, "You guys are good now, right? Just…" He turned back to them as he began to open it. "... let it happen. Experience it and remember it doesn't control you." And then he was gone into the cool night.

"Wow." Jackson said apathetically. "I don't even know what to say." He winced at the bruising on his sides. "What if he really is the one who bit us?"

Scott sat quietly resting on an elbow. "Have you two… done anything strange when you… transformed?"

Danny stared into the light of the living room downstairs.

"What do you mean, strange?"

"Hey guys!" Stiles' voice yelled from downstairs. "I think they're gone, you can come down now. Wait- are you guys gonna try to kill each other again?"

"Nevermind," Scott said as he headed down the stairs. "I feel weird still." He said to Stiles who took him by the elbow.

"Damn, he really beat you guys up." Stiles said, reaching to touch a scrape on Scott's forehead.

"Yeah, what the hell was that all about?" Scott touched his temple as if wincing in pain. "Augh, Stiles maybe you should back up."

"What's wrong?" Stiles said, trying to see where he was hurt.

A groan came from up the stairs. "Hey, Danny, calm down-"

"I _am_ calm."

"Woah-" Jackson said, "Do you feel that?"

"You feel it too?" Scott asked.

Rustling leaves could be heard from what might have been the bushes outside. Suddenly, the young wolves felt restless. Scott's fangs began to grow and Stiles gulped loudly.

"Scott? Scott-uhm-hey Scott?" Stiles said nervously. Scott couldn't quite understand why Stiles constantly seemed to be moving backwards but never really farther away. "Hey, man, you're freaking me out." At noticing something behind Stiles, he looked up. In the reflection of the window, he saw what looked like a beast-no, not quite- it was something strange, something he vaguely understood but couldn't quite grasp the idea of. It's arm was raised up with claws and it's eyes… they looked so familiar-so- Immediately Scott drew back and Stiles stepped forward. What was going on, was that monster in the reflection really him? His heart rate bounded so loud that he could hear his blood pulsing. He felt a houl beginning to rumble in his stomach as his hair hands trembled.

And then something else happened, something that quieted all the noise and panic. Warmth touched his arm and a face replaced where his hands were. "Scott?" Stiles whispered. "Stay with me buddy. I swear, we can get through this."

"Stiles?" Scott croaked. He wasn't sure why, but he believed those words, even with all of his uncertainty and fear. "Yeah." He whispered.

Stiles nodded, "Just, take some deep breaths." Scott nodded back and started to breath with Stiles. "Yeah, just like that. See, you're already less hairy." Stiles chuckled and Scott smirked back, glancing up at his friend's eyes. "Huh, that wasn't so bad."

"For _you_ maybe."

Stiles looked around the room. "Well… it isn't great though."

"Oh shit, your dad. What are you gonna tell him?"

Stiles shrugged, "I wanted to throw a house party and it got out of hand?"

"He's gonna kill you." Stiles sighed. "But, I can't help shake off this weird feeling. I don't know how to explain it, but it's like there's something on me. Or in me, I'm not sure."

"Feeling? What do you mean?" Stiles said, putting his hands on his hips.

"Like… there's something really strong nearby. I don't know how to explain it, but it made me-" Scott glanced up at Stiles then who seemed to understand.

"I know you wouldn't mean to hurt me. I mean I did tell you that your bloodlust would be strongest tonight, though."

"Danny!" Jackson's voice yelled from above.

Xxx

The beast had heard tales of the dangers of a young pack. They didn't understand a lot and some were bound to get lost when there were too many to watch over. But the beast had also heard that the more wolves a pack had, the faster their strength grew.

The beast stood on its hind legs at the sound of an approaching car. Its form shifted into that of a man as he walked away from the odd house with cardboard coverings and into the nearby woods. Now he needed patience, not urgency. He'd already rushed and ended up leaving himself with a mess to manage. The sound of a second howl in the night echoed a ways off and Peter shook his head. They sure were noisy. Should he gather them all together?

True, it was difficult training them. So far he had only met with Scott once, but the werepup was too reluctant. Yet, the beast knew that it would only take a matter of time and some persistence before his pack was ready to kill. The human figure slipped his fingers through his hair as he walked among the brush. Was it better to have them reckless or would it be better to leave the introduction to the werewolf world to Derek? The Hale pack was well aware that control was a skill not to be disrespected.

But what had it gotten them? Peter gripped his fists as he felt smoke enter his lungs. He flared his nostrils and stood for a moment, resting a hand on a tree. With a bitter smile and murderous eyes, Peter thought, _All this self-control, talk of honor and a code, and look what happened. The only one who needs to be in control is me. It's time to purge this town of all its weak creatures and manage it with my own pack. I've made them strong but they don't know how to control themselves. If they don't know how to do even that, will they ever be ready to help me burn this place down?_ Peter breathed in deeply, feeling fresh and alive as if he were born again. _Will I have to bring in the assassins after all?_ His eyebrows drew together in determination. _No, I'm doing things_ my _way this time._ The damp leaves of the forest floor made little patting noises as his footsteps drifted deeper into the darkness of the woods.

Xxx

All around her were familiar faces of unfamiliar people. Some she'd walked past a few times that night, others she barely recognized from the school hallways. But, it didn't feel like she thought it would. Sure, she started out feeling strange being surrounded by strangers, but now people were feeling silly and dancing. She thought it was better to dance then stand against a wall and wish she could have another five minute conversation with someone else. Lydia had been nice to talk to her, but she had weaved into the party again. She was the host after all. It wasn't until Alison had started moving to the pounding music that she caught Lydia's eye again.

"There you are!" Lydia said with a laugh. "I've been looking for you!"

"Well, I've been here the whole time." Alison said, moving her shoulders in rhythm with her hair slipping past her face just as she began to spin.

"I didn't know you were into dancing."

"I'm not really, I mean, by my-"

"What?" Lydia asked over the music.

Alison leaned in and yelled, "I'm not really, when I'm by myself, but I might as well since I'm here. Come on, dance with me!"

Lydia smiled and started to move, twisting her hips and moving her arms in a way that made her wanted by everyone in the room. Then when she was satisfied with the attention, she looked back to Alison and grabbed her hands. Alison tried to be sort of silly by making her arms long and moving them up and down, making Lydia laugh. There were no strange visits from wolves and Alison didn't lose her jacket that night. Instead, she just had a fun first weekend of school and got to know her new friend just a little bit better.

Xxx

Thump, thump, thump was the sound of footsteps pounding on the ground. Pant, pant, pant was the sound of forcing his breath with each movement. He wasn't sure where he was going, he wasn't sure what he was doing. It was like something had called out to him, and it felt more real than anything he'd ever known. When he howled he felt like he was a part of something much bigger than him, like he was connected to something. It wasn't like being part of the lacrosse team, it was like really belonging somewhere. He thirsted for the feeling. Isaac remembered Scott and wondered if he was like him. Well, if Scott was like that and seemed to be doing fine, maybe he could be too. He felt many questions rush towards him, but something in the sky called to his attention instead. At the top of a tomb, he watched the moon with wonderment.

Isaac felt alive. He felt free.

He felt powerful.

He howled again and-

Suddenly his body was shocked by an incoming force that shoved him to the grassy ground. "Shut up, will you?" A harsh voice said on top of him, but his face was turned away as if looking over his shoulder. Startled, the werepup struggled to move away as he remembered the beast that first attacked him. He didn't like feeling trapped by this stranger. "It doesn't matter if we haven't done anything wrong if they decide we've broken their code, so just shut up. Five bites doesn't look good for us." What was he talking about? Bites? Did he mean- "Stop squirming!" The voice said, his eyes blue as he glared down at Isaac.

Anger grasped Isaac then. "Don't fucking tell me what to do asshole." He said, finally deciding to shove him off instead of trying to slip away. What was with his eyes though? They were alarmingly bright in the darkness. But the stranger didn't get pushed off. As if startled by something, he looked over his shoulder again.

"Come on, let's go." And the stranger darted for the woods.

"What the hell?" Isaac asked. He took his time getting up thinking the stranger was just… well, strange, and rubbed the dirt and loose seeds off his fur. Off his fur. Off his fur? "Uh?" His eyes got wide while staring at the hairy back of his hands while a pair of headlights quickly swept over him.

"Did you see that?" A voice said from a distance.

"We've got 'em now." Another called out.

"Which way was it?"

"That way!"

Isaac felt his heartbeat pounding in his ears as he stared at his long nails-claws? In the moonlight. Then something grabbed the back of his shirt and he was running though he didn't know why, but he was running, with someone? With someone. Who was this? Why were they running? He looked over his shoulder just as something blew past him and exploded in sparks against a tree. The light blinded him and stunned him, but as soon as he stopped, a hand was on his shoulder tugging him so that he ran again.

"We'll find you!" A voice called from the distance.

Another voice shouted, "The Argents are back in town and we will hunt. You. Down."

What? Why did they want to hunt him down? What did he do? What was happening?

"Just keep running." The gruff voice demanded. "I'll explain it later."

Xxx

Danny seemed like he was about to jump out the window like Derek had done, but at noticing the drop he figured Derek was just a crazy or reckless and stomped out the front door instead with Jackson following him around.

"Later McCall." Jackson said with a glare as he walked out with Danny. "Dude, what the hell, are you okay? I haven't seen you like this since-"

"I just need to cool off. Augh-" Danny squinted up at the moon as if it made him cringe. "I hate the way it makes me feel. I hate being like this. I just want to be calm and chill out but it makes my head spin and-"

"I know, remember?"

Danny glanced at Jackson and put his hands in his pockets.

"Just… feel it." Jackson said with a shrug. "Like Derek said."

"Really?" Danny posed sarcastically.

Jackson laughed then, "Oh boy, haven't seen _you_ since middle school."

"Oh, shut up Jackson."

"You know what this reminds me of?"

"Don't start-"

Jackson put an arm around Danny. "You accepted it then too, and look, you're still pretty cool."

"Yeah, but being gay is different from being a _monster_."

"I think your emo phase would beg to differ."

"Oh god, don't go there." Danny pleaded with a chuckle.

Jackson watched his friend who stared at the sidewalk. The pale moonlight, though it seemed like a curse, helped illuminate the good in his friend. "You're the one who said to love people, not what they are. And so what if your grandma is being a bitch about it." Danny glanced over at him in warning. "Sorry, not a bitch, but fuck her, you know? Like, what is she going to do about it? We have bigger things to worry about than whether or not she's still going to love you."

"And what about you?"

"What about me?"

"When are you going to stop thinking your parents don't really love you?"

Jackson's footsteps faltered. "What?"

Danny froze as if he was surprised the words had come out of his mouth. "I-"

Looking away, Jackson put his hands in his pockets and clenched his jaw. "Whatever, let's just get out of here."

"Jack-"

"It's the moon, just forget about it." He said, walking past Danny so that his friend couldn't see the look of betrayal in his face. Had it been that obvious? He'd only half known he felt this way until now. He felt scorned and a fool. Still… he couldn't shake off the feeling.

Xxx

"Thanks for helping me out." Stiles said as he sweeped broken glass into a dustbin.

"Yeah, no problem." Scott said, picking up the broken frame. "I don't know what we're going to do about _that_ though." He said referencing to a dent in the wall.

Stiles shrugged, "I'll make something up."

"What, the _party?_ I think your dad would just laugh."

"What? I could throw a party if I wanted."

"Maybe we were practicing lacrosse or something?"

Stiles pouted in thought, "That might work." Then he sighed saying, "He's gonna kill me."

"Sorry." Scott said as he held the bag open for Stiles to pour the glass in. "I'll say it was my fault- I mean, it kinda was."

Stiles laughed, "True," but smiled reassuringly and added, "It's okay. Just stay in my room when dad gets home, he won't know you're here. I think we're almost done anyway." He said as he put the broom down and closed the ground floor window.

"You think I should still stay?"

"Well… do you still feel weird?"

"Yeah." He said with a shrug. "I think maybe I just need to sleep it off? It feels like… I don't know how to explain it, but it just feels like a lot." He sat down at the kitchen counter. "Honestly, I feel like I'm about to burst. Like I feel red, if that makes sense."

" _Feel_ red?"

"Yeah. I don't know. It's weird." He said, shrugging again. "Thanks." He said as he took a glass of water Stiles poured.

"Well, it's definitely been a weird night. Who would have thought there'd be so many in a town like this. What's up with Derek though?"

"Yeah…" Scott said, leaning over the counter. "Do you think…"

"Definitely, it's like he was waiting for you guys."

Nervously, Scott stared at the countertop, "Augh." He pressed a hand to his temple again.

"Scott, hey- are you okay?"

"Yeah-just- stay away, I don't want to hurt you." He replied with angry fear straining his voice. He struggled to shove his feelings down into nothingness.

"Scott…" Stiles said as he touched his friend's arm. "Scott, look at me."

"I don't want to hurt you…"

"I…" Stiles took a shuddered breath and demanded some courage from himself. "You won't. Just look at me. Focus on me. Yeah, like that. You're doing good Scott. See? It's o-" Scott winced away. "It's okay, just stay with me. Look, I'm right here." Stiles said, shifting his face into Scott's view. "See?" He said with a smile. Scott met his eyes and couldn't help the warm and happy feeling he got. He smiled and chuckled. "Seeeeee?" Stiles teased.

" _Yeah_ , I see." Scott said with a grin, playfully shoving Stiles off. His face felt a little warm.

"But we seriously need to figure some things out. Like what's up with Derek? Why the sudden increase with…" He looked over at Scott cautiously. "werewolves." Scott shrugged. "And what are we going to do, because we can't be practicing lacrosse at my house every full moon."

Then the front door jingled and Scott and Stiles got an earful from Mr. Stilinski. Somehow, Stiles was able to convince his dad to let Scott sleepover. Scott flopped onto the bed. "Thanks." He said.

Stiles looked over at Scott while changing his shirt. He made a little smile, "Yeah."


	6. Chapter 6

**[I know this chapter is shorter than usual! Sorry.] [I made an edit and reuploaded this. I forgot that Isaac isn't supposed to know Derek's name yet, whoops!]**

"You know…" Jackson said when their conversation had a lull. He glanced at Danny then, the moonlight complimenting him. "If you need a place to crash for a while, you could stay at my place." When Danny didn't say anything, Jackson quickly added, "At least-until your grandma leaves."

Danny seemed to grimace. Their shadows became shorter under a streetlamp and grew long again as they walked past it. "Are you sure?"

Almost sighing in relief, Jackson said, "Yeah, of course. I'm sure my parents will be fine with it. They'll probably be glad I'm helping you out."

Danny chuckled and bumped into Jackson shoulder. "Thanks."

"Yeah, no problem. It'll be nice. We'll finally be able to hang out, just us guys."

"It's been a while." Danny said. "How's Lydia?"

"She's… cool. Hot. You know, I mean she's Lydia."

"Yeah but, she… I mean…."

"Oh-what? This again?"

"All I'm saying is that sometimes she seems to get under your skin."

"Yeah but, I don't know. I like her. Like really."

Danny smiled then. "Well okay. As long as you're happy." They both went quiet, warm in each other's presence.

"But Danny, I mean… really. I mean-I'm angry too. I don't want to be a… one of those, but you… why do you… I mean you just seem so…."

"I-it's not like I-I mean…"

"I mean you seemed to really hate that guy. Do you know him?"

"Wh-Derek? No. It's just. My family, we've been here for a long time. Like a really long time. We… you know how my family is like really superstitious and we keep giving you weird things? Usually when you hear about weird accidents on the news?"

"Accidents?"

"Yeah you know," Danny said, putting his hands in his pockets, "Like animal attacks or stuff like that."

"Like werewolves?"

"No… well not exactly, but sort of like that."

"Okay?"

"Well, my family is one of the oldest families here. Everyone else moved out a long time ago. There's a story about a tree in the woods that attracted monsters" Danny spat out the word, "like him to this place. It was cut down a long time ago so it's not like it used to be around here. At least, that's what my family says." He sighed then. "Well, it's not like we really hated them. We used to- I didn't used to get so angry about werewolves. I mean, I just thought it was my family being weird and superstitious. I didn't want to tell you because-" Danny's eyes looked over in Jackson's direction but he kept facing forward. "-well, it's kind of weird. I mean, like my family is really weird about this stuff."

"It's whatever." Jackson said, shrugging. "I mean my family's weird too."

Danny's eyebrows knotted together tightly and he went quiet for a bit.

"I mean… well maybe not like your family though." Jackson admitted.

"Yeah."

After some more quiet, Jackson said. "You… seemed pretty angry though."

"Yeah. I just… it's hard to take it all in. It's not like we were hunters or something, but you hear stories about the werewolves and what they do. Then it's like… what if that's us. I mean-they had peace for a while-the Hale pack-"

"The Hale pack?"

"Yeah, like Derek Hale. They guy we just met. The guy whose family burned down in that fire. That wasn't a normal fire either, but I don't know. I mean it's all just gossip on our end." Danny said with a shrug. "And when I realized I beca-when I realized what happened… I didn't ask for this."

"Yeah, me neither." Jackson said.

Danny noticed his hands were clenched and he blinked a few times, trying to relax. "But… you…" He looked up at Jackson. "You didn't seem all that… I don't know. You just…"

Jackson met Danny's confused stare. He shrugged back. "I mean I was mad too, but I was pretty confused about what was happening."

"Yeah, but your- you didn't really transform like I did. Did you… learn to control it or something?"

Jackson's lips pursed as his eyebrows scrunched up. "I… I don't think so. I don't know, it's like, whenever I looked-this is going to sound weird, but whenever I looked at you I just felt better."

Danny didn't say anything for a while.

Jackson nodded and they continued walking into the cool summer night.

Xxx

"Where are we?" The boy asked, looking up at charred walls. He stepped out from under the porch to look at the stars between the trees.

"I think we lost them." Derek said. "But they might expect us to be here. We should move."

"They? Who's they? Why were they chasing us? And who are you?"

"I'm guessing your name is Isaac."

The boy paused. He looked the stranger up and down cautiously. "Yeah?"

Derek started walking away with Isaac quickly following. "You're a werewolf."

Isaac paused, jerking his head away for a moment. Then he nodded and followed, "A werewolf. Right. Of course." He said sarcastically. In the back of his head, he thought about his odd recent incidents.

"Yup. Just ran into your little buddies too."

"My… little buddies?"

"Do you know who's been turning you all?"

"Us all?" Isaac's mind drifted towards- "You mean Scott and Stiles?"

"Like Scott, and…" He suddenly realized he didn't get a chance to ask the werepups their names. "The other kids on your lacrosse team."

"I knew something was up with them!" Isaac said. "Painting my ass." He said with a grin. But then a sort of uneasiness began to rise in him. So he was a werewolf?

"Do you know who bit you?" Derek asked again.

"Wh-no it was some… some thing. It had red eyes-"

"Did they call out to you? Have you met them since you changed?"

"No I don't think so-will you slow down?"

"Not until we get somewhere safe." Derek said, continuing to move between the trees.

"Safe from what?"

"The hunters."

"Hunters?"

"Yeah. The ones hunting us."

Isaac felt unsettled. "We're-"

"Being hunted yes. I hate babysitting." Derek grumbled.

Isaac crossed his arms and continued to follow Derek.

"Well, at least you're showing some promise. The other ones just kept freaking out and whining."

"What do you mean? The other werewolves-from the lacrosse team?"

"Yeah, but you're doing just fine. Maybe you should change back though, just in case we bump into them. Not like they'd believe any excuse we came up with but-"

"Change back?" He looked down as if to see if he needed to change his clothes when he noticed his hands. Oh.

"You seem to be really in control of your emotions."

"Uh… yeah I guess."

"I mean… when people get transformed-if they're not born into it-they tend to get overwhelmed- You're just walking around like a werewolf."

"I don't know… it feels good. It's like… I don't know it's not like being in control. It's more like I'm not holding back. Like I'm being my real self."

Derek chuckled at that.

"What?" Isaac asked.

"I was just thinking you should talk to some of your packmates about accepting themselves."

"What do you mean?"

"You'll get it when you meet them." Suddenly Derek stopped and stared hard at Isaac. "You have to tell me if you meet your alpha."

"My-"

"The leader of your pack."

"You mentioned that before-"

"When you were bit, you weren't the only one-" Isaac nodded, "and the one who bit you-he's in charge."

Isaac squinted in disbelief. "I'm not just going to follow someone around who bit me."

"It's not like that." Derek said. "You'll get it when you meet him but-"

"No, you don't get it. I'm my own person. I'll do whatever I want. And I'm not just going to follow around some stranger in the woods." Isaac said, walking off.

"Wait- Isaac! What the hell, you have some problem with authority?"

Isaac shook his head and scoffed feeling hot.

"Isaac!" Derek said, grabbing his elbow.

"Don't fucking touch me!" Isaac yelled.

"Shut up!" Derek commanded. "What if they find us? Just tell me if you find out who your alpha is."

"Why?"

"Because I'm trying to help you. Whoever is turning everyone into werepups is putting us all in danger."

Isaac didn't say anything as he continued to stomp through the woods. He tried shaking his hands or rubbing off the hair on them. "Why won't this stuff come off?"

"It's the moon. You'll get more in control of it in time. You're already halfway there." As Derek talked him through it, Isaac finally changed back into his human form. Finally they reached the edge of the forest and Derek offered Isaac a ride home. He decided to walk instead.

Xxx

Scott lay on Stiles' bed and stared at the ceiling. "Whose blood do you think was on my hands?"

"It was probably a deer or something."

Scott suddenly remembered the night he was bit and the deer that ran past him. He remembered the beast standing over a dead carcass. Could Scott have really done something like that? He shuddered and rolled over to face Stiles. "I mean, I guess that's better than eating a person."

Stiles chuckled. "Yeah, way better. What you're not a vegetarian are you?" He said, turning to face Scott with a grin.

"No but… raw? That's kinda gross."

Stiles shrugged. "I mean, you're a werewolf now."

"Well you're open minded." Scott said, rolling onto his back again.

Stiles watched his friend for a bit, "I mean, we're talking about you Scott. I'll be by your side no matter what. If turning into a werewolf means you eat deer now then… cool. Just don't eat me." He joked.

"I won't!" Scott said.

"I was just kidding." Stiles said.

After some silence, "I don't want to hurt anyone."

"I know." Stiles said, remembering his friend's dad. He faced the ceiling as well. The bright moonlight draped over them, almost blocking out the view of the stars. "I know."

"Do you think Isaac is like us too?"

"Wh-you mean like you guys? A werewolf?" He asked, shifting his elbows as he put his hands under his head.

"Yeah."

Stiles frowned. "Maybe. I don't know yet though."

"I think we should talk to him. We should get together and figure out why Derek is doing this."

"I don't trust that guy. He gives me the creeps." Stiles said, a shiver running up his body. Scott agreed. "I'm glad you're feeling better."

"Yeah, me too. It was weird. Like I just had some much pressure in me ready to burst. It was… scary. And I just kept thinking about that night when you found me."

"You really don't remember what happened before then? At all?"

"No… I thought… I was asleep." Scott turned to face Stiles. His looked somewhat confused and hinted at a feeling of alarm.

"Well, it's fine."

"I mean, I want to know what happened. What I did. If I hurt anyone. Or anything. Even if it's a deer."

Stiles sighed, and took his hand out from under his head and patted Scott's chest. "We'll figure it out." He let the hand stay there for a moment. He could feel Scott's chest rise and fall.

The werewolf turned on his side to face Stiles. He seemed to look at him with trusting and determined eyes. "You know… it's weird. Since I got bit I feel like… I don't know… like I'm more in tune with you."

"Really? Well, I guess you've got like heightened sense and whatever."

"It's not-I don't know how to explain it but… it's not like I notice everyone else in the same way. I don't know why-maybe because we're best friends but… I just…."

Stiles felt his heart thumping harder.

"See? Like I can hear your heartbeat."

"You can hear my heartbeat? But-I mean you're a werewolf-"

"But that's what I'm trying to tell you. I don't know if I can hear other people the way I hear you. It's like…" he put his hand up to face Stiles who was now also on his side. Stiles reached out and pressed his palm against Scott's. "It's like… I don't know."

Stiles smiled then. "Well that sounds kind of cool."

"Why is your heart beating like that?"

Stiles laughed nervously. "I don't know. You're a werewolf? Maybe it's a you thing."

Scott's eyebrows pressed together with a grin. "If you say so." Stiles rolled onto his back again, but Scott watched him for a bit, noticing the way the moonlight curved over Stiles' face and across his chest. He noticed where his own features cast shadows across the bedsheets and over Stiles who was trying to breath slowly. Scott grinned as he realized this was Stiles' attempt to slow his heart.

Xxx

Isaac stood in front of his front door. What would happen if he went inside? He grimaced and backed up looking for his window. Maybe since he was a werewolf he could just jump up there or something. He tried but didn't really get far. Looking up at the moon, he tried to shift. It gave him some bounce. He liked the feeling. Having gained some extra height, he jumped up to his window and climbed in, wondering if his landing was loud enough to get his dad's attention.

He woke up early that Saturday morning and headed out with his lacrosse gear before coach Lahey woke up. Isaac remembered what Derek had said last night about Scott and Stiles. So they were both werewolves? He grinned at that. Finally, he was in on something. Maybe they could be friends after all. He found himself longing for it and inexplicably, found himself comforted by the idea of being close to Stiles. It was a moment he didn't know how to explain, when he first saw Stiles that night he'd bumped into Scott the painter. It was like there was something about Stiles that made him feel grounded and calm. He shook his head. It was only a moment.

Isaac walked onto the lacrosse field and started putting on his gear. He pulled the lacrosse goal from behind the stands and onto the field. He grinned as he swung rocked the first ball in the lacrosse's pouch. He'd become a starter. Feeling proud, he tossed the ball into the net. He couldn't help but smile. Were his newfound skills also because of this change in him? This… werewolf? Being a werewolf didn't seem all that bad. Things were finally turning around for him. He tried not to worry about the strangers chasing him through the woods. And so what if some weird "alpha" or whatever bit him. He'd never felt better in his life. There was something about changing that made him feel… free. Like he was really himself. Like he didn't have to hold back anymore.

Hold back what?

After some time, he could hear some chatter growing louder behind him. "I just want to learn how to control it."

"Yeah I know. I mean, I think it's a good idea too. Wouldn't want you going wolf on the field." The voice said with a chuckle.

Isaac looked over his shoulder and saw Scott and stiles coming over. Stiles' face grew sour at the sight of him. Isaac frowned and went back to hitting balls into the net with a little more force. He could hear someone jogging over.

"Hey," a soft voice began. It was Scott.

Isaac turned to face him before throwing another ball in the net and dropping his lacrosse stick. "Hey."

"So… you… notice any weird animal attack lately?" Scott asked, seeming to be beating around the bush.

"You been painting lately?" Isaac asked with a bit of frustration biting on the edge of his tongue. Scott looked confused.

Stiles stepped in then, "This is why I don't like him. Look at him, he's just-"

Isaac glared as if beckoning to go on.

"Well… like that." Stiles said, bouncing and taking a step back. "It's annoying."

Isaac looked away and picked up his lacrosse stick again.

"Listen, you've… changed right?" Scott asked.

"Yeah. Into a werewolf. You too right?" He said, punching the pouch of his lacrosse stick. When Scott didn't say anything, he looked up at glanced at the two of them. "So what did happen that night?"

"Oh…" Stiles said when Scott looked to him. "He was there when I found you."

Scott looked to Isaac with hope, "Do you know what happened to me that night?"

"What night? Oh-when you were painting?"

"Why do you keep saying that."

Isaac sent a glare towards Stiles who scoffed and said, "Do you really blame me for that? I mean what else should I have done? It's not like either of us knew what was going on. I just wanted to keep Scott safe."

Isaac pursed his lips and looked down, nodding. "I don't remember much. It was a weird night. Probably one of the first times I transformed. All I know is… it felt like something was calling out to me. Maybe you felt it too." Isaac said to Scott. He then looked curiously at Stiles. He felt uncomfortable by how much he wanted to connect to him. Suddenly, he remembered what Derek has said last night. "Stiles… you…"

"What?" He asked, his arms crossed.

"You… you're not the one who turned us, right?"

Scott stared at Isaac in open surprise.

"No, I'm just a human."

"You are? I thought you were a werewolf. Someone said-"

"Someone said I'm a werewolf?!"

"Yeah. I think."

Scott looked back at Stiles then with a look of entertained disbelief. "Yeah right." Then turning back to Isaac, "I think I'd know if he was a werewolf. If you were there last night and saw the way Derek was treating us, you'd have no doubts that Stiles is human."

"Derek?" Isaac asked.

"He barely even looked at me." Stiles grumbled.

Scott grinned as he glanced back at him.

Then a question occurred to him, "What makes you think that I would be the one who turned you two and not Scott?"

"Well… I don't know how to explain it but… there's something about you that… I guess draws me to you? That made me feel calm when I-" Suddenly he felt embarrassed. "Nevermind."

Scott continued there, "Wait, I think I know what you're talking about. I get like that too. Like you notice him more right? Or you feel more in tune with him?"

Stiles looked between the two with a bit of concern as Isaac nodded. "But why would you two both feel that way about me specifically? It's not like I'm a werewolf or something."

Scott shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe you taste good." Stiles blushed. "Aww, do you hear that?" Scott said looking up at Stiles who was just a bit taller than him. Isaac covered his face as he tried not to smile.

"Stop listening to my heartbeat!"

The two burst out into laughter as the sun started to reach its highpoint in the sky.


	7. Chapter 7

Lydia was fuming. She had called three times and been sent to voicemail three times. Where was Jackson? Anger prickled at her eyes but she refused to cry. _He's supposed to be perfect. He_ was _perfect. What is he doing?_ She glared at the desk she stood over, remembering as Jackson invited Scott, Stiles, and Isaac to sit with them at lunch. Why? Sure, at least two of them were getting better on the team, but still? She looked hopelessly into the mirror and sighed. Well, they weren't cool by themselves, but maybe it could be forgiven if they at least had cool girlfriends. Or dated Danny. But none of them did. Instead, she knew them as uncool twerps she vaguely remembered from her childhood.

Lydia Martin would be a name to remember. Lydia Martin would be someone who everyone would see in their yearbook and say "God, I wish that were me." Lydia Martin was supposed to live out the rest of her high school days as a queen. This was unqueenly. Jackson had finally gotten back into lacrosse and was doing way better than last year. Which was remarkable considering he was already pretty good. She hadn't remembered him being that good when she'd shown up to watch him practice as she painted her nails between reading a book over the summer.

Was he trying to outdo her?

Wait. Could he be? Lydia squinted at herself in the mirror. A feeling of competition roused up from within her. Had he been secretly practicing? What if he was holding back when she was with him? No way… Jackson wouldn't go that far. That was more like something _she_ would do. And he wasn't that bright either. They both loved the way that being together made them the power couple of the school. And well… he was easy enough to keep by her side until someone better came along. She started to hope he'd come along sooner.

Lydia fussed with her curls in the mirror. Tossing her hair with confidence, she grinned at herself. She wondered if she should go visit him. Rolling her eyes, she figured he was probably watching more lacrosse videos. She sat at her desk and looked over her textbooks. Well, after her homework she'd go pay him one of her special visits. Who cared about a curfew anyway?

It wasn't like Jackson was _too_ dumb. He also had that sense of stinginess when it came to the people he surrounded himself with. She doubted he'd be able to see something she couldn't, but still, she'd be able to make it work. Besides, two of the three boys _were_ getting exceptionally better at lacrosse…. Maybe even good enough to be hers. Her hands stilled in her hair, finding herself genuinely worried. It wasn't like she _disliked_ Jackson. Maybe it wasn't obvious, but he was sweet and…. At the moment, Jackson was still at the top of the social hierarchy. If she had anything to do with it, he'd be there for at least a little longer. Watching herself with satisfaction, she went back to studying.

Xxx

When he thought his dad had fallen asleep, Isaac sneaked out the window again. He felt that odd calling to him he'd sensed the night he first met Scott at the convenience store. It clouded his head, but not as much as before. A howl sang off in the distance and he felt drawn to something. A sense of connectedness encouraged him to seek it out. Getting into a light jog, he looked for it with some impatience, but more curiosity. Slipping into the woods, he let his wolf eyes see for him instead of the moon. They glinted gold in the darkness.

At a familiar scent, he changed directions and began to run on the street again. But this was… at school. Just as he came upon the scene, a figure ran off quickly. Some sort of impulse, perhaps a wolf instinct, made him lung in that direction towards a school bus, but immediately he was halted by something that moved to stand in his way. Something.

Isaac took a few steps back and watched the tall creature. It looked… it looked like that thing that had bitten him. Although he hated himself for it, fear seized him, sizzling along with his fuming anger.

The form shifted and a snarling face turned into a pleasant smile. "Is that any way to look at the one who gave you such a gift?" Blood was smeared against his face and speckled his chest. His claws formed into fingers and were dressed in the same sweet metallic smell.

Isaac took several more steps back at the sudden appearance of a naked man. Feeling some instant stranger danger, he decided to leave. "Wait." The voice commanded. Isaac was startled at feeling himself pause. "Turn around." The voice growled. "Isn't this better?"

"Why are you naked?" Isaac mumbled, looking away.

"It's easier to pretend you're just a big scary wolf if you're not wearing any clothes."

"Aren't you one though?"

"It's half the truth." The werewolf said with a shrug. "But, if it'll make you more comfortable." He went up to the dead body and frowned at it. "Are you sure?" when Isaac didnt say anything, the stranger put on its pants. "Better?"

Isaac didn't make eye contact, but looked disgusted.

"A bit macabre, sure, but-" He shrugged. "I've done worse."

"Are you the one who bit me?" Isaac glared at the concrete ground.

"Can you blame me?" When Isaac didn't say anything, he took a few steps closer. "It isn't all that bad is it?"

Isaac's eyebrows pinched together briefly. He glanced in the creature's direction but didn't say anything, didn't look into his face. Isaac hated how small he felt. Anger built up in his shoulders, making his neck hot. He felt himself shift, not just in that half assed form he was using. In his throat, a low growl in warning-

"See? You _like_ it."

Confused, Isaac glanced in his direction again, but never quite at the creature itself. "No-"

"You're not like the others are you? You don't want to hide from yourself… from your anger… your rage…."

He felt his throat choke up, as if he were in danger. Smaller and smaller he felt. Cold. The smell of plastic and the weight of a locked magnetic door filled his senses.

"You know you don't have to hide it anymore." He said it as if it were a fact.

"You don't _know_ me." Isaac said, but still he didn't look up.

"You've embraced the monster within you, but you're still holding back…" The voice tsked at the boy. "What are you afraid of? Or are you just unused to power?"

Isaac's eyes met the stranger with ferocious speed, but with his head low. He eyed the stranger suspiciously, then looked him up and down. "Why…" He gulped. What would happen if he asked that question. Glancing at the school bus, he finally stopped ignoring the smell. A body… a… human body? Was it dead? The smell of the torn fake leather of a the bus seat mixed with the scent of blood. It looked as if a fight had happened here. Staring at the torn open bus, shattered glass at its sides, he decided to ask. With some hesitancy he met eyes with the stranger, watching his face for any signs of danger. "Why…"

"Did I kill it?" The stranger asked, cocking his head to the side with a patient smile.

 _So he did kill it_. Isaac thought, his eyes wide and meeting the floor. Shit was real now. True, he'd felt some sort of… bloodlust? But still… Isaac glanced at the man again. Would this be his future? Killing people in the dead of night?

As if choosing his words carefully, the stranger began to say "Your pack mates… they're… a bit _slow_ on the pick up. I've been trying to help them… so we can grow stronger together. The stronger you are…." He stopped and glanced at the boy, as if catching himself. "Well, the stronger _we'll_ be." He had a chilling smile. Walking towards the end of the bus where the carcass likely lay he said, "I've tried to help them… to show them what they can do. I keep forgetting to be patient. I thought I would see you all on the full moon." He didn't quite look over his shoulder, but it seemed as if he were waiting for some explanation.

Isaac put his hands in his pockets.

The creature's eyes flickered red in the darkness. "You're… Isaac, is that right?"

He looked up in surprise. "Yeah?" His eyes narrowed suspiciously at him. Why did his name keep rolling off the tongue of strangers? "What's your name?"

The creature looked up into the moonlight. "I have some things to take care of before I can tell you. I don't want to get… interrupted. You should come with me some time. On a hunt." Isaac glanced at the torn open bus. "I'll teach you how to use your powers… for their intended purpose." Isaac watched, but with the stranger's back towards him, he couldn't read his expression. "We werewolves have been… too docile for too long."

Isaac felt a sense of nervousness rise up from within him. There was something strange about how this person talked. It put him on edge.

"There's no point in being docile if…" The creature rubbed his fingers together before slipping them over his face tenderly as if remembering old scars. "... they won't respect our treaty anyway. Besides, since when were wolves domestic animals?" He looked over his shoulder with a grin. "Talk to the others, won't you? Show them our way. They're too hesitant. I know that it's because they're still pups but… well if _you_ can be like this on your own, surely with a little help they'll turn out just fine." As he said this, the werewolf turned to face Isaac with that chilling smile.

Xxx

Scott woke with a familiar creeping feeling. His body in a cold sweat, he was only glad he'd opened his eyes to stare at his ceiling instead of the trees again. He'd never been one to remember his dreams much, but he also hadn't been one to wake up from nightmares he couldn't remember. He remembered waking up in his living room to find out Stiles had found him covered in blood. Or in the woods the night after he'd been turned. At least he was clean this time. Maybe he'd really just stayed asleep and wasn't sleepwalking somewhere doing… who knew what.

He sat up and looked at his hands in the moonlight before turning on his bedroom light. _I don't want to hurt anyone_. Feeling like he could use some cold water, he walked into his bathroom and splashed his face. Why couldn't he remember what happened that night Stiles had found him? He wondered if the others had experienced the same thing.

The next day he went over to Stiles' house for advice, and the two decided that at school on Monday, they'd ask the others if they'd ever experienced the same thing. That night, Scott found himself in a dream again. But this time when he woke up in a cold sweat, he remembered it. The screaming. The power. The desire.

As soon as he woke up he rushed to dress and leave his house. The sun wasn't quite up yet, but by the time he arrived, it was yawning hello. He rang again, hesitating at the doorbell.

"Hello?" A voice answered on the other end of a phone.

"Jesus, Stiles, why didn't you pick up?"

He could hear a muffled yawn on the other end of the line. "Uhn? Scott… you called me like…"

" _A lot_. What were you doing?"

"Sleeping…"

 _Oh… right._

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah I just… I just…" Relief overcame Scott then and he squatted on the floor, hugging his knees. "I had this weird dream… it felt so real…"

"Wait a second…"

Scott could hear a window above him slide open. He looked up to see Stiles looking down at him. "Scott!" He said, yelling and whispering at the same time.

The wolf grinned back up at him.

"What are you doing?" Stiles grinned back, intrigued and somewhat entertained. His bare shoulders hung outside the window and he squinted just as golden morning light painted itself over his face.

"I just…" Scott hesitated on the truth. "...wanted to see you." It wasn't a lie.

"Wait a sec." The boy disappeared. A few moments later, the front door opened. He was wearing a pair of sweatpants that appeared to be rushed on. "Hey." And then he left the doorway for Scott to follow in. He scratched at his bare chest. "So… what's up? Does this have to do with you being in tune with me or something? You're not-" He made a snarling face and pretended he had claws, feigning a quick lunge at Scott. "-trying to bite me are you?"

Scott huffed out a short laugh. "No."

"So then, what's up?"

Scott looked at the countertop of the kitchen's island. His eyebrows pinched together briefly as he leaned an elbow on it. "I just had this-" he flashed back to a bus. "-weird dream. It felt…" He remembered lips pressing against each other. "...g-" Interrupting himself, he instead said, "real." His eyebrows pinched together again and he breathed out a sigh. "And scary." Then he looked up at Stiles, "I dreamed I'd…"

Stiles searched his eyes, trying to understand.

Scott looked away, almost embarrassed. "You promised I wouldn't hurt anyone."

Stiles shrugged, "I just that you wouldn't do it on purpose." When Scott didn't say anything, Stiles reached out to touch his arm. "Scott… what happened? What did you dream?"

At his touch, Scott felt relief. Still, he hesitated. "I dreamed… that I killed you."

Xxx

"I mean he didn't even _tell_ me. I just found out when I walked in there." Lydia said, obviously unhappy.

Alison touched her arm sympathetically, "It is nice of him though. Wouldn't you want someone to help you if you couldn't stay home anymore?"

Lydia frowned unhappily, but nodded. As they walked into their morning class both waved hello to Scott and Stiles. Stiles, of course, felt a shudder go down his spine. "Since when did Lydia say hello to _us_?" He asked, dreamily watching her walk off.

"Since we joined her boyfriend's werewolf gang, I guess." Scott said with a chuckle.

Stiles looked back up at him with a smile. As they all settled into their seats, it became apparent that there was some sort of animal attack the night before. The class watched in pity, fear, and a nervous excitement as a body rolled into an ambulance. Alison turned to Lydia, but as she looked over at her, she was startled by a face of horror that was somehow different from the rest. It was as if… she looked back out the window and then back at Scott. Thinking he was just being weird, she shook off the strange feeling that rustled in her chest in warning.

At lunch, Scott had said he knew the person who had died. Alison waved it off as a coincidence, but still, a strange caution built up within her. Today, Lydia was extra flirtatious to Jackson. "So Danny," Lydia said leaning forward, "Anyone you like recently?"

Surprised, he chuckled in response. "Not particularly."

"Really? That's a shame, you're such a catch." She said, leaning back in her seat with her arms crossed. Jackson raised an eyebrow at Lydia in question, but she didn't look at him. Her eyes scornfully looked over at the three new boys of her lunchtime group. Then as if suddenly having a thought, "We should all hang out sometime, right Alison?"

"Uh… yeah sure." Alison said, a hesitant glance in Scott's direction. "That could be fun, what should we do?"

Xxx

During practice, the boys watched out for each other on the field. It was odd but felt good to have this secret connection they shared and supported each other with. Even Stiles, who wasn't really a werewolf, felt like he kind of belonged with them. Like he was in on the big secret. Derek watched them play together, on edge. Always he wondered, would they be able to control themselves? Could they hide their identity and keep each other safe? If humans found out… But, seeing the way Jackson supported Danny who seemed the most uncomfortable with his newfound powers, the practiced werewolf thought to himself, _Maybe they'll be alright,_ before vanishing.

After practice, the five werepups hanged out on the field instead of heading into the locker rooms right away. Stiles nudged Scott to speak up, but he hesitated. "We were wondering-" Stiles began.

"Wait." Scott said, "The bus…"

Jackson raised an eyebrow. "Yeah? What about it?"

"You didn't…" Danny said, eyes narrowing.

"I-I don't know. I've been having weird dreams." Scott said. "I was wondering if you guys were having any too."

"Or sleepwalking." Stiles added.

The group went quiet. "I mean, I always have weird dreams." Isaac said with a shrug.

"Yeah, but any that are _different_." Scott said. Danny glared into the grass while Jackson crossed his arms.

"Yeah, almost _prophetic_." Stiles said with a shrug and exaggerated frown.

Before Isaac could say anything, Danny said, "You dreamed about killing the man on the bus." It wasn't a question.

"Well, not _exactly_." Scott eyed Stiles cautiously before saying, "I dreamed… I dreamed that I _killed_ Stiles. On the bus." _And other things_.

"It could just be a coincidence." Jackson said with a shrug.

"Unlikely." Danny kept his gaze locked on Scott, making him uncomfortable.

Isaac stared into the grass, picking at the ends of his sleeves.

"You killed him." Danny said. The group turned to him in horror.

"I-I-" But even Scott began to doubt himself.

"It wasn't Scott." Isaac burst out finally. "I… I met someone last night. The one who did kill him. I don't know his name, but…" Isaac looked up at them all. "He can help us."

"By teaching us to kill people." Danny stared down Isaac, making him feel small. Isaac gripped his fists and stared at the ground quietly gritting his teeth.

Stiles said, "If anything that was probably whoever killed the woman in the woods!"

"Oh yeah." Scott said, remembering what had started all this chaos.

"Wait, was it Derek?" Stiles asked. Isaac shrugged, unfamiliar with the name. "It was probably him. He's a werewolf. On the night you all turned he found us at my house-" Isaac glanced at them, realizing he'd been left out. "-and tried to get them to shift. That _dick_. I _knew_ he was the one who did this!" Stiles said. "First the body in the woods, and now this guy. Why is he killing people? I mean, couldn't he slow down just a bit?"

"What about the dream?" Danny asked, eyes still on Scott.

"I mean, I dreamed about Stiles." Scott said nervously, uncomfortable with the way Danny seemed to glare at him. Still he couldn't shake off how real the dream had felt. But to admit it here? With the way Danny seemed convinced Scott was somehow involved? "But someone else died…. I just thought it was strange." But something about the way Scott avoided Danny's eyes made him even more suspicious.

"So you think it's just a coincidence that you dreamed about where a murder took place and then someone was actually killed there? You said you knew him. During lunch, you said you knew the man who died."

"Danny, chill." Jackson said, nudging him as Scott stammered out, "Yeah-but-I mean-"

Stiles stood up for Scott then, "Danny, cool off. I'm still here, right?"

"But someone is dead-" Danny insisted.

"And Isaac says he knows who killed him!"

Scott glanced at Stiles then. "I think we should look for Derek."

"Well, we can't just ask him if he's been murdering people." Jackson said.

"We have to keep him away from you guys." Stiles said. "I mean, what if he's been-" He glanced at Scott, "-trying to convince you to murder people too?"

Scott felt his heart fall into his stomach. "You mean-"

"Painting." Isaac muttered.

"What?" Danny and Jackson asked, but Stiles moved on.

"The safest way to keep him away is to get him in jail. If we find the other half of the body-"

Scott interrupted then, adding, "The murdered girl, her body was split in two."

"Gross." Jackson said.

Stiles continued, "It's got to be linked to Derek. If we find it, he'll get arrested." And so the boys concocted a plan.

Xxx

Meanwhile, Alison had invited Lydia over to her house. They had just finished up their homework and were on Alison's bed in a conversation that drifted between topics.

Alison said, "Well, I don't know. We have a lot of history in Beacon Hills. My family used to live here a long time ago. They don't really talk about it much, but it kind of seemed like they didn't want to come back. Then all of a sudden it was like nothing could _stop_ them from coming back. I mean, I'm glad because I got to meet you, but it's just weird, you know?"

"Yeah, I guess. I've lived her my whole life." Lydia said with a shrug.

"I just, I don't know. And my dad keeps going out with his poaching group in the middle of the night. I think he thinks we don't notice, but we do. Mom always waits up for him. I tried asking her about it, and she just said what she always does, 'You'll understand one day.' So annoying."

"I thought you said your mom used to do that too?"

"What, poaching? Yeah, but she doesn't anymore. Says she'd rather be home with _me_. I mean, I don't know why though. She always looks like she wants to go with him whenever he leaves. It's like they don't trust me to be home by myself. It's not like I'm going to throw some wild party-I mean, your party was fun though." Alison said with a smile.

"Wasn't it?" Lydia lay on her back, reminiscing. "And who cares if Jackson and Danny left, we had _fun_." But still a frown fell on her face. "I don't know what I'm doing wrong. He won't see me as often anymore. He barely has time for me anymore. And I told you about how Danny is living with him now right? I mean, it's not that I don't trust Danny, or that I think Jackson is _gay_ -"

"I mean, he could be bi-"

"But _still_." Lydia said in exasperation. "It's weird. It's like he doesn't have time for me anymore. For _me_. His _girlfriend_. I just don't get it." Lydia turned onto her stomach then and said, "I'm glad we became friends. To be honest... I didn't realize how few friends I had left after dating Jackson. I mean you kind of _have_ to be picky with your friends when you're like _me_ , but it's nice to hang out with someone _not_ on the lacrosse team. Your timing couldn't have been better." She said with a happy smile, touching Alison's arm.

Alison smiled back lovingly. "I'm glad I did too, no offense to Jackson."

"Of course."

Xxx

After their huddle, the group headed to the hospital's morgue to get a scent of the body. "Guys, you can't _all_ go in there." Stiles said, "Maybe _one_ person could sneak in but-"

"I'll go then." Jackson said.

"Why _you_? You don't even know what she looks like. Scott is the only one who saw her." Stiles said while crossing his arms.

" _I'm_ team captain."

Stiles looked at Jackson in shock. "Are you serious right now?"

Danny elbowed Jackson before saying, "We can't let Scott go. He might be a part of this too." Danny shrugged as if to apologize but didn't seem all that apologetic. Scott shifted uncomfortably and crossed his arms next to Stiles.

"Scott didn't do _anything_." Isaac insisted.

"Thank you!" Stiles said.

"I think." Isaac added, remembering Scott's 'painting session' and glanced over at Stiles who frowned back at him. Jackson was already heading towards the morgue during this last bit of conversation.

"W-wait!" Stiles whispered loudly.

"He's gone." Danny said and moved to sit down. "He'll figure it out."

Some minutes later, Jackson came back. "Hey… who'd you say died on the school bus?"

"Garrison Myers?" Scott asked.

"That body… that was messed up." Jackson said, eyes a little lost. Danny held his elbow, but Jackson shrugged him off.

"Are you okay?" Danny asked. Jackson's frowned in disapproval. "Did you get the scent?"

"Yeah, let's go." That night, they wandered through the woods, waiting for Jackson to say whether or not anything smelled like the body.

"What makes you think we'll find anything? Didn't the police already search the woods?" Isaac asked.

"Because I can _smell_ it, dumbass. They only had their eyes to look for it." Jackson said.

Tired and chilly, Isaac said. "What if those _hunters_ are out here?"

"Hunters? What hunters?" Stiles asked.

Danny gripped his fists. "So they _are_ back."

"What? Who!?" Stiles asked, grabbing Danny's arm.

Danny sighed loudly and shrugged out of Stiles' grip.

Stiles frowned and went to walk next to Scott again who made a pitiful smile and put his arm around Stiles. Isaac watched them with a bit of jealousy. When was _he_ going to feel that close to someone? Jackson had Danny, and Scott had Stiles. Again, he felt left out. Even together with them all, bonded by this one secret, he wondered if he really fit in.

"The hunters…" Danny began, "They've been here almost as long as this place has had monsters. They're what kept us safe from them. I heard they left some years ago. Left us unsafe obviously." He remembered his parents thinking they should leave. How they had said that with the fire, they would all be safe and they didn't have to. That they had outlived many monsters in Beacon Hills and would be able to surpass more. For a long time they debated the risks, but ended up staying, unable to part from this town they'd inherited for generations.

"They were chasing me-me and some other guy who found me in the woods." Isaac said.

"Derek?" Stiles asked urgently.

Isaac picked up his pace and walked evenly with Stiles, "I don't know, but he was a werewolf like us. He found me on the full moon-"

"Probably Derek." Stiles insisted.

"But, I thought you said Derek was _probably_ the one who killed the guy on the bus."

"Yeah." Stiles agreed, looking over at Isaac curiously.

"But they weren't the same person." Isaac said. The group stopped to turn at him. Nervously, he watched them before they turned around and kept walking.

"So there's someone else…" Stiles said.

"But who else could it be?" Danny asked, "I thought everyone else died in the-Laura."

"Laura-who's- oh Derek's had a sister right? The other person in the Hale family who-"

"-didn't die in the fire. Yeah." Danny nodded. He remembered his family warning him against the Hale pack. They were bad people, they'd said when he was a child and too young to understand. Now he understood. "The other person must be her."

"But, the person I met was definitely a guy." Isaac insisted.

"What do you mean?" Stiles asked.

Isaac made an exaggerated shrug and said, "I just know."

Danny then said, "She could just be a masculine kind of girl. Or trans. I haven't seen her in a while."

"No, that's not what I meant- Just trust me, okay?" None of them seemed too convinced. Scott shifted his feet, wanting to trust his new packmate.

The group was now close to Derek's property. They noticed his car driving away in the darkness. "Wait…" Jackson began, "I think I smell something." He followed the scent to a pile of dirt. "Do you think she's buried here?" He scrunched up his nose and added, "It smells kind of weird though." The boys approached the pile and decided to come back later with shovels.

When they did, they found a wolf's head. Danny and Stiles recognized the wolfsbane and Stiles unwound the illusion to find the other half of the body. Danny thought she looked vaguely familiar in the same way an adult might look if you only saw them as a child, but couldn't quite place who she might be. Satisfied, the boys called the police. Jackson looked unpleasantly at the flower. At noticing Stiles putting it into his bag, he said, "You're going to keep that?"

Danny looked over at Stiles and said, "Well, it wouldn't be a bad idea for a human."

"What do you mean, for a human?" Stiles asked.

"Those things are bad for werewolves-" Danny replied.

Jackson interrupted with, "-Make you feel like crap. But maybe it'll keep you safe from whoever bit us."

"We'll be safe soon enough." Danny said. When the police came the next day, the group of boys stood to watch as Derek was arrested.

"Wait-" Isaac said with wide eyes. "That's _not_ the guy who turned us."

"What? What do you mean, that's _Derek Hale_." Danny said.

"Who else would have done it?" Stiles asked.

"The guy I met… he… it wasn't him." Isaac finally said.

Jackson scoffed and said, "So we just made enemies with someone who might have _actually_ been trying to help us?"

"It's not like he didn't have a dead body buried in his backyard." Danny pointed out.

Scott looked over at the man being put in the police car. "Well, now what do we do?"

Stiles, plagued by a question, went into the police car when no one was looking, trying to understand the mysterious power of the murdered girl.

"Hey, uh… So I hear you might not be the guy."

"The guy?"

"Yeah, you know… the murderer."

Derek stared at Stiles apathetically.

"Right, well-" He asked about the girl but, instead of answers, Derek warned, "You should be more worried about your friends. They're gonna get killed if they keep answering the calls of a power hungry alpha. They're _reckless_ and they're not only putting themselves in danger."

Then Stiles was dragged out of the car and lectured by his dad before heading home with the boys. "He said we shouldn't go chasing after an alpha."

"Alpha? You mean like alpha males in a wolf pack?" Jackson asked. Putting a hand to his head, Jackson pushed Stiles to make some distance, "Your wolfsbane-keep it away."

Stiles shrugged away from him and walked closer to Scott, a little annoyed.

"Derek-" Isaac said, "He was talking about an alpha. He said that was the guy who was turning people into werewolves. I wouldn't be surprised if he murdered anyone." Isaac said, holding one of his arms.

"Great so the real murderer, the _real_ threat is still out there." Jackson said.

Danny shook his head, "That doesn't mean Derek is innocent. He's still suspicious even if he isn't the one who turned us. Maybe we should see a druid."

"A druid?" Scott asked.

"Augh." Scott moaned out. "Stiles, just get rid of it."

Danny continued as Stiles begrudgingly tossed the wolfsbane. "They're like, these people who help keep the peace between humans and monsters. Like supernatural gatekeepers. Stiles, my mom has some wolfsbane at home." He hesitated, unsure if he should explain his family's connection to Beacon Hill's strange creatures.

In his pause, Isaac said. "We're not monsters, Danny."

"You don't think a werewolf is a monster?" Danny challenged.

"I've seen monster, and I'm not that." Isaac remembered the dead body and the broken bus.

"A supernatural furry murder machine isn't a monster to you?" Danny asked, stepping towards Isaac. Jackson, noticing Danny's pressure point being hit, grabbed Danny's arm.

"Hey, chill out." He warned. "Maybe he's right though. Maybe we should stop thinking about ourselves like we're-"

"We _are_ monsters Jackson." Danny said. "The better we remember that, the safer the people we care about will be. That's how everyone else will see us. Lydia, your parents, they'll only see us as monsters. What if we lose control? Maybe seeing us as monsters will be what saves them from us." Jackson's eyebrows pinched together, his grip loosening as he wondered what his parents would think if they saw him transform. How unlucky to pick him out of all the orphans. Guiltily, Jackson stared at the leafy forest floor and said nothing.

"Look," Danny said turning to the group, "Maybe you all want to deny what we are, but we have to accept this. Not because we have to like it, but because when we think of ourselves as monsters, it forces you to be careful. We can't just-tear everything apart because we have an identity crisis. You'll just scare the people you care about."

"Yeah, but accepting that I'm a werewolf, doesn't mean I have to hate myself for it." Isaac said. "I don't know about _you_ , but this feels pretty good to me."

Danny shook his head, looking angry. "You're a fool and you'll kill everyone you care about." He felt himself begin the shift in his frustration.

"Danny!" Jackson said, getting between the two. "Danny-just-"

But even Jackson's voice was enough to stop the transformation. Danny put a hand on Jackson's shoulder and gave him a reassuring though unhappy smile. "Sorry." He muttered, embarrassed that he lost his cool.

Xxx

Soon the big game had begun. With all of the boys knowing the strength of the other, and looking out for each other, they killed the scoreboard. There were _four werewolves_ on the team. It was difficult to win against them, especially with the way they worked together. Sure, sometimes Jackson felt the tug of his ego and would let that competitive spark allow him to hog the ball instead of pass, but for the most part, they worked well as a team.

Lydia and Allison- the only Argent in the stands- cheered along with everyone else. Happy parents like Ms. McCall and Mr. Stilinski among them. Stiles could be heard excitedly running amok at the sidelines, making Scott and Isaac grin in glee. They glanced at each other and shook their heads. Still their smiles couldn't leave their faces. Scott suddenly remembered his dream about Stiles and a funny question tugged at his heart. The dream also reminded him of what he might have done to Garrison Myers and he worried. With his teammates looking out for him, he was able to keep his head in the game. Eventually, they became so far in the lead that coach started sending people from the bench into the field. Even Stiles got to run around during the winning game.

How could life feel so right? Danny was the first to get switched out. As he sat on the sidelines, the excitement of it all wearing off, he started to wonder if it was really okay to win like this. Sure, some people took steroids, but being a werewolf? He looked at his gloved hands as he gripped his fists. Right then, he decided that from now on he would play as if he were human. He tried focusing on his breathing and relaxing to shake off the adrenaline from the game, trying to calm his heart rate. It was easier to stop from shifting when he had people looking out for him.

Jackson, of course, was loving this. When coach tried to pull him out he said, "What? Are you kidding me? I'm _making_ the game right now!" Coach laughed and nodded but still left Jackson on the sidelines, patting him on the back. He sat down heavily onto the bench and elbowed Danny. When he didn't respond, Jackson took off his helmet and looked into Danny's. "Hey, you good?"

Danny, finally able to regain composure said, "Yeah," and straightened his back. "I'm good. You were killing it out there."

"Right?" Jackson said with a grin. Danny finally took off his helmet, about to question the morality of it all. At seeing Jackson's intent but gleeful eyes watching the game continue, he hesitated. Well, at least for now he'd let it go.

When Stiles got onto the field, he and Scott high fived. "Yes!" Scott said, nearly jumping in joy.

Stiles grinned back and said, "Now let's see how long I'll last out here."

Scott shrugged and said, "There's not much you could do to hurt what we made for you."

"Oh yeah? You don't think I could _contribute_? I could score a few goals-" As he said this, Isaac jogged over.

"I didn't say that." Scott said, trying not to laugh.

Stiles scoffed while smiling, "Alright, tough guy."

"Welcome to the _field_." Isaac said, slapping a hand against Stiles' back.

From the stands, coach could be heard saying, "Hey! Hey- don't hold up the game!"

Shaking his head and breathing out a laugh, Scott hit his lacrosse stick against Stiles' and said, "Show 'em what you got."

When Isaac stole the ball he passed it to Stiles who ran up the field and then passed it to Scott. The three worked smoothly as a team, alternating passes, and scored another goal. "Ha, not so bad a player after all." Stiles said confidently, looking over at coach.

When all the wolves were off the field the score remained unbeaten, but became less dramatic. Still a significant lead, but something easier to swallow. At the end of the game, Stiles jumped onto Scott and Isaac leapt up into the air excitedly. Scott was surprised by an impulse that was only interrupted by the clashing of helmets. Blinking away as his face turned red, Scott put Stiles down. Stiles laughed, "What? Were you gonna kiss me?" Isaac looked over at them in awe. Scott coughed awkwardly as the other boys of the team, also wanting to share in the moment, rushed the field hooting and hollering. Danny sat on the bench watching it happen as Jackson bolted over. Expecting Danny to be close behind him, Jackson turned to smile at him, but instead found a troubled face looking back at him.

After the game, Mr. Stilinski got a call saying Derek had been let out of jail. Lydia sauntered onto the field and gave Jackson a congratulatory kiss. Alison looked away wondering if she'd be able to care about and share something like that with someone soon.

Xxx

Stiles had offered Scott and Isaac a ride home. In the car, Scott talked about his dream again. "It was weird. I know I didn't say this before, but it felt _real_."

Isaac put a hand on Scott's shoulder from the backseat. "Maybe it _was_ real."

"What-" Stiles began in protest.

"No wait-seriously. I was _there_ that night when it happened. Something ran away when I got there. Maybe that something was you." Isaac said with a shrug. Scott didn't say anything as he nervously played with his fingers.

"Or maybe it was _you_." Stiles said.

"What-you don't think it's weird that Scott had a dream about the murder the night it happened?"

Stiles remembered Derek's warning then. "Maybe… maybe we should ask Derek for help."

Scott shook his head, "Are you kidding? We just got him in thrown in jail."

"Well... he's not there anymore." Stiles said. "He just got let out."

"So he was innocent?" Isaac asked.

"More like, whatever killed her was animal. Look, Danny's right. Just because Derek isn't the alpha or whatever, doesn't mean he-" Stiles drummed his hands on the steering wheel. "But it wouldn't make sense."

"What wouldn't?" Scott asked.

Licking his lips, Stiles said, "Remember how we were talking about Laura Hale? _That's_ the dead girl." At their silence, Stiles went on, "I mean, you're right. He might not trust us anymore after we tried to get him arrested, but he might be our best chance at figuring out what happened that night."

"What if _he_ was the other one Isaac saw?" Scott asked.

Stiles gripped the steering wheel with uncertainty.


	8. Chapter 8-1

**[I know this is smaller than I usually post. I just feel like if I don't finally get at least part of this out, I'll end up losing momentum. I have a really busy transition period coming up for me so I just want to push this out in the meantime. Look forward to 8.2 and the appearance of our other loved characters.]**

Jackson woke up somewhere around 4am. Again. Danny was up as well, panting. "Danny?"

"That was wild." He said. "Let's never do that again."

"Do what?" Jackson asked, sitting up.

Danny sat at the edge of his bed with his hands at his sides. He looked over his shoulder before turning towards Jackson, " _That_. Next time we hear that howl, let's just leave."

Jackson's forehead creased in question as he scooched closer. "Did you go somewhere?"

"Wh-Jackson _we_ went somewhere. Together. We saw that… beast or whatever. It's not like it's your first time." Danny said. "Jackson, you're kidding right?" But he shook his head. "Wow, are you serious? What-you think it's a bad dream or something? We're already living a nightmare, you think it couldn't happen in real life? Maybe _that's_ what Scott meant by weird dreams."

"I don't even remember what I dreamed about." Jackson said with a shrug. "What were _you_ doing?"

"You mean what were _we_ doing!" Danny gestured to outside. "When we ran into the beast again! Trying to get us to _hunt_ or whatever. Maybe _that's_ what bit us. I guess if it's a werewolf it could also be what Isaac was talking about too. Like that's its monster form and what Isaac saw was its human form." He rested his chin in his hand as he thought outloud. "I don't know why it looks like that though, I mean _we_ don't look like that."

Jackson sat quietly as he watched Danny.

"You don't remember _any_ of this?" Jackson shook his head. Danny stood then, revealing his other hand that had been hidden where he was sitting before. It was covered in blood. "You don't remember what we did?"

Xxx

Lydia sat in the idle car staring into nothing. _Crash_. Staring into nothing. _Howl._ Staring into nothing. _Scream._ She remembered his words so slowly that they were almost incomprehensible, "Wait! Lydia-stay in the car!"

She opened the door and started to walk away. Her chest began to expand and contrast in quicker pulls of breath. The knees that held her steady began to buckle. A rising panic threatened to scream itself out of her.

Beasts.

Monsters.

Giant dogs maybe. Her right knee gave out and she let herself fall, her hand catching her against the pavement. Her eyes drearily gazed down at her hand as if in a trance. In her palm was a phone. Right. Police. She could call the police. Or an ambulance. Because the man… the one in the DVD store….

Glass had shattered in front of her. Startled, she'd looked up to see three monsters rushing out of the store. Gasping, she had looked over her shoulder to watch them disappear before struggling to open the car door. "Jackson? _Jackson?_ " She had called out between the isles of knocked over dvd shelves. "Danny?" Her voice quivered. Had they been attacked?

Lydia now got up from the concrete with her mind empty like a slate. What was she about to do? Was it important? Slowly she stood up. As if guided, she headed back towards the car again. She was waiting for someone, right? Or was she? Wasn't she just leav-

"Guys? Are you okay? I just saw so-" It was then that she had seen the body. A store clerk on the floor. Blood. She had screamed. Right, that's where the screaming had come from. That's where the…

Lydia's hand touched the glass of the car door's window. But where were Jackson and Danny? At the touch of the window, she heard a small muffled clink and looked down at her hand. Oh right, she was going to call someone.

But not all of those things looked like dogs. Two of them… two of them almost looked like people. But that couldn't be right. It couldn't be right. They _almost_ felt familiar. She wasn't sure why she thought that exactly, but-

Lydia began to call Jackson. The electronic ring buzzed in her ear as she waited. Her eyes unfocused against the parking lot's dark surface. No answer.

"You don't feel it?"

"Feel _what_?"

"That _thing_."

"Chill Danny. Let's just get a movie and head back, right Lydia?" Jackson had turned to her with a grin.

"As long as it's not a lacrosse video." She had said with a shrug, obviously disappointed that she wasn't getting alone time with him. With regret she had wished she'd invited him to her place instead of going over to his place. It wasn't that she didn't like Danny, but more that she missed her alone time with Jackson. The two seemed to always be together since he moved in.

"Wait!" Danny had called out before turning to her. As he opened the backdoor he said, "Lydia-stay in the car!"

She went through her contacts and found Danny. In her peripheral vision she could see glass shards on the ground. "Danny?" She whispered into the receiver as the phone continued to buzz. No answer. Her bottom lip quivered and she looked back into the store. Finally she dialed 911. As she did so, she walked onto the sidewalk and passed through the threshold where glass had once been. "Jackson? Danny?" Her heart pounded.

She had found a body with blood seeping out and screamed. Back into her car she had fled trying to piece together what had just happened. Desperately she had looked up from the dashboard towards the storefront. It was in her waiting that her mind became foggy.

As she now rewalked through the store, a voice answered. "911, what is your emergency?" As she started to recall her story, realizing at the same as she said that some of it didn't sound sane, she looked with nervously seeking eyes for her friends. They… couldn't be… she turned her head in the general direction of the dead body, but didn't quite look at it.

Trembling and with some relief, she couldn't find them. Maybe they got out. Or were hiding. "It's gone!" She yelled into the store. "Those monsters are gone! You're safe now. _Please,_ " Her voice croaked, "come out! _Please_ , just be safe!"

Xxx

Alison headed down the staircase in a rush. "Hey, kiddo, where you going?" Mr. Argent asked.

"Lydia-I'm not sure what happened but she needs my help."

"Woah, woah, slow down. Want me to come with you?"

"No, I mean she's safe now, just really…" She waved her hand open as if willing the right word to come to her, "distraught. Sounds like another animal attack."

"Animal attack?" Chris asked, standing. "Where?"

"I don't know, I'm just heading to her house right now. I know there's a curfew but-"

"No, no." He said while backing up towards the basement door. "It's okay, she needs you. But I _will_ go with you."

"Dad-"

"I will feel better about this if I come too. What's your friend's name again?" He asked as he opened the door.

"Lydia!" She said, raising her voice as he disappeared down the stairs. She impatiently waited a few minutes before he came back up with a duffle bag.

"What's that for?" She asked, but he was on the phone.

"Uh huh…" He said as they headed out the door. "Yeah, I'll let you know when I find out. See if you can find the report in the meantime. Hopefully we can still find them. Okay. Uh-huh. Talk to you later."

"Who was that?" Alison asked as they got into the car.

He shrugged as he put on his seatbelt. "Just Steve. Where does Lydia live?"


	9. Chapter 8-2

**[Heyyy, look at that. Another post and it hasn't even been a month.]**

Stiles pulled into the animal clinic just as Scott was getting out of work. As he opened the door, Stiles raised his hand towards Scott in greeting.

"Hey, almost done."

"I know, a little early." Stiles said as he walked around with his hands in his pockets.

Deaton came in from a back room. "Hello again, Stiles. What can we do for you today?"

Stiles said, "Nothing, I'm just here for Scott. I don't own a pet or anything." He said with a goofy smile. His hands were in his jacket pocket, but even under the cloth they were expressive as he waved them around.

"Right..." Deaton said while looking up at the office's clock. "Well, why don't you two go ahead. I'll finish up here."

"You sure?" Scott asked, dog food in hand.

"There's only five minutes left, go ahead." Deaton said, taking the food.

"Thanks." The two headed off into the jeep. The car hummed as their conversation reflected their good mood and small luck. Stiles laughed and noticed that he also felt more in sync with Scott. It wasn't for the same reasons and was more gradual, but still… even after all these years of friendship he felt they were still bonding and deepening their relationship.

He sighed out. "It's good to see you like this." He admitted, "I was worried you'd be… I don't know, down because of everything."

Scott shrugged. "I don't know. I mean- yeah- weird things are happening but I want to live a semi-normal life, you know?"

Stiles smiled. "Yeah. And you're on first line." He elbowed Scott while keeping his eyes on the road.

"You'll get there too." Scott said. "We'll keep practicing."

"Yeah, I know. I'm an underclassman anyway." Stiles said with a shrug and a deflated sigh.

Before Scott could say anything else, the two heard a howl from across town. "Oh shit!" Scott said.

"Wh-what do I do?" Stiles asked. "Do you want to go for it? Do we stay away? Can you tell who it is?"

"No! I have super hearing, not super recognition!"

"I don't know! I'm not a werewolf!"

And then there was another howl closer to them. Much closer. Stiles pulled over and slowly turned towards Scott who said, "I know I don't have super recognition, but that kind of sounded like when Isaac howled."

The two rushed out of the car. "What if anyone sees us? What if they see you transform?" Stiles asked.

"I'll wait until I'm inside." Scott said, but his heart was already beating too fast with adrenaline. Stiles couldn't blame him for the same stress and excitement rushed him as well. From inside there came the sounds of things clashing and thudding against each other. Stiles nervously waited behind Scott who checked to see if the door was unlocked. As he waited, he looked around and noticed that the houses around them were turning off their lights. Didn't they hear the fighting inside? Weren't they concerned? Stiles frowned and guessed he wouldn't have to worry about anyone finding out about Scott.

The door swung open and the two saw Isaac over his father, fully changed. It was the first time either of them had seen anyone with murderous intent in their eyes. His claws were extended and suspended in air, about to swipe. A glass lay shattered on the ground along with a bottle of whisky. The smell of it mixed with the metallic tang of iron. Terror filled Isaac's father's eyes. Blood soaked the back of his shirt and stained his collar. "Isaac!" Stiles yelled.

In that moment, the boy froze. Something like shock filled his eyes where his rage had stayed. His wolf-like features retreated into his skin. Then pain deepened his frown and knotted his eyebrows, crushing his face into a horrid determination. His open palm strengthened into a fist as he- Scott tackled Isaac off of Mr. Lahey. Stiles rushed to their side. "Isaac! Calm down! You're going to kill him if you keep-"

"Maybe he deserves to die!" Isaac screamed back, making Stiles flinch. "Maybe he never should have lived! Never should have forced me to exist!" Then yelling over Scott's shoulder. "What was the point of having me if you'd only make me live like this?!"

Scott looked at Stiles before asking, "Wait, is that your dad?"

But Isaac continued yelling as if he hadn't heard, "What am I even here for? For you to mess with when you're bored, or tired, or angry?!" Then shoving at Scott, "Get _off_ of me!"

His father lay still with labored breathing. "Stiles, call an ambulance." Scott said while struggling to keep Isaac down. Sprung back into action, Stiles fumbled with his phone, almost dropping it before calling 911. Scott was surprised by an exceedingly powerful push from Isaac as Stiles spoke to the 911 operator. "I'm stronger than you Scott. You better back off or-" Isaac's features began to change again. Stiles dropped the phone and put his hands on Isaac's chest.

"Isaac. I don't know what's going on, but obviously something wrong happened here. This-this moment, whatever happens, is going to change your life for-"

"I've _already_ been changed forever! I'm a monster now!"

"You're not a monster!" Isaac said.

Scott added, "You're the one who-"

"Yes I am! Danny was right! Look at me! Look at what I did!" He remembered the stranger in the woods. "I'm _done_ holding back! I'm done being the weak one who gets _fucked_ over _every! Time!_ "

Stiles let one of his hands hold Isaac's shoulder. "Yeah, but-" He licked his lips nervously, glancing away for a moment before looking into Isaac's eyes, "that doesn't mean you have to kill someone. I-I" Stiles tried to find the right words to say, but in truth he wasn't sure of his next words. Isaac was beginning to change focus again before Stiles said- "Move in with me!" Scott and Isaac turned towards Stiles in surprise. "He's your dad right? If you don't have to see him again, then you don't have to kill him, right?"

Speechless, Isaac just stared at him. Would that really solve all of his problems? He turned to look over at his father. How could that man look so helpless? So weak? After all these years of him looking invincible and powerful. And now Isaac could just leave? Isaac found something break inside him, but it quickly filled with a sense of strength. His hand gripped on Stiles' forearm.

"Being a monster is something you choose to be." Stiles said, "Just because you're a werewolf doesn't mean you have to be a monster."

Scott blinked at those words and scooched closer. "Yeah. Let's get you out of here."

As they slipped into the jeep the sky began to drizzle. Raindrops slowly pittered and pattered, but not enough for Stiles to turn on his windshield wipers. Isaac sat in the backseat quietly laying his head against the car's interior. The silence didn't really bother Isaac but it made Scott and Stiles feel tense. Slowly, the sound of raindrops increased and Scott gulped. Unbuckling his seatbelt, he moved into the backseat. Sirens could be heard in the distance.

"Hey…" Scott said.

Isaac didn't say anything and Scott wasn't really sure what to say. The distant feeling he got reminded him of when Stiles lost his mom. Most of the time Stiles had jumped around with his bountiful energy as if nothing were wrong. There was this one night though… Stiles pulled over as an ambulance rushed past them. Scott brought in Isaac for a hug. At first Isaac squirmed in the sudden embrace, unused to the touch. In most of his life, he was expected to be strong and not need anyone. To not rely on anyone. Stiles turned around in his seat and put a hand on Isaac's knee as Scott loosened his arms. "Sorry-" Scott said awkwardly. "I just-I thought maybe you wanted a hug."

Isaac crossed his arms and struggled to stop himself from crying, another sign of weakness. Of lack of strength. He was strong now. He didn't need- a sob caught him by surprise. His hand clasped over his mouth. Angrily, he felt betrayed by himself. Was he really weak after all of that? Was he really just-

Scott rubbed Isaac's back and Stiles scooched into the crowded backseat next to Isaac, putting his arm around him. Scott and Stiles looked at each other over Isaac who was beginning to crouch with his arms over his face. He felt so much shame and embarrassment for this moment and what he'd almost done.

"Some dads, we're better off without." Scott said. "It's rough, but it's got some perks too." Scott said, trying to lighten the mood.

"We'll be here for you. We're packmates or something. Right? Can I say that? Am I a packmate?" Stiles asked, looking over at Scott for guidance.

He shrugged and made a face that said "I guess."

"Yeah." Stiles said with a confident nod. "Yeah, I'm a packmate-but more importantly, we're here for you."

Suddenly Isaac sat up with a big breath. "I'm fine now," he said with a stern face.

Scott nodded and Stiles said, "Cool. I'll take you home then." Those words made Isaac feel queasy until Stiles added, "Your new home." Relief, nervousness, and hope washed over him. Scott's eyes widened at the overpowering smell of emotions but tried to recline in his seat as if he hadn't noticed. His arm lay over the backseat behind Isaac.

"See? We've got you." Scott said with a grin.

Isaac smiled weakly at Scott before his mind went back to his fight with his father.

"Oh, you haven't met Stiles' dad before, right? He's the town sheriff."

Pulled back from his thoughts, Isaac said, "Really?"

Stiles said from the front seat while driving. "Yeah. Sometimes we listen to the police blotter so we can check out the crime scene."

Scott shook his head with a grin. "There's lots of weird stories from that." He tried not to frown while remembering the night he got bit and added, "Like that time we got there in time to see that one guy-"

Stiles laughed and nodded, "Oh yeah. He just jumped out while we were trying to catch up! We didn't see him coming at all!" Isaac started to smile as well as he listened in, drawn in by their story. In the back of his mind he wondered if he could show them that he wasn't weak, but for some reason he felt like they didn't care. At least not in the way he did. Scott scoffed and yelled back at something Stiles said, leaning forward and making Isaac lean as well since Scott's arm was around him. The jostle felt good and Isaac found himself laughing as well. His smile was wide but his eyebrows creased together as if confused. Was it alright to laugh now? To smile now?

"When my dad saw us he was so mad, but what could he do? I mean we caught the guy, right?"

Scott scoffed, "Got us grounded for sure."

"Well, true. He did do that."

Isaac crossed his arms before saying, "Haha, my dad would have beat me so bad." Then he froze. That was awkward wasn't it? Why did he say that? He'd said it so casually and even with a smile on his face. Nervously he glanced at the rearview mirror to catch a glimpse of Stiles. He looked up and they caught each other's eyes.

"Nah, just grounded." Scott said. Isaac looked away. "You should have seen my mom though. She was _pissed_." He chuckled and it felt as if the moment had passed unharmed. Isaac softly sighed in relief.

The car began to slow and Isaac became doubtful. "Are you sure I can? Would your dad be okay with it?"

Stiles shrugged as he hopped out of the jeep. "Yeah, it'll be fine. You can borrow my clothes for now. You have keys to your house?" He asked, scratching the back of his head.

Isaac nodded with his hands in his pockets.

"We'll pick up your stuff tomorrow." Stiles said while glancing at Scott who nodded.

"Yeah. You're gonna love it here. I mean I do." Scott said with his adorable crooked grin.


	10. Chapter 9

[Sorry in advance, this chapter is kinda boring. It's mostly set up for other stuff. Also: If you know more about social services and think anything I wrote seems inaccurate, please let me know! I tried looking up some information, but I know I'm not an expert.]

"I'm just glad she didn't get hurt." Lydia's mother said.

"Of course, I am too. Hopefully animal control can help take care of these attacks." Mr. Argent said, glancing at the staircase leading upstairs again. "I'm just going to check up on them, if you don't mind."

"Go ahead." She said as she got up to move into the kitchen for a glass of water.

Chris quietly made his way up the stairs and crept towards the sound of sniffling and hushed voices. He leaned into the door, but had trouble hearing anything. Softly, he knocked on the door before opening it. "Hey girls," he said with a smile as they looked up. Allison had her arms around Lydia whose eyes were all red.

"Dad, can I sleep over?" Allison asked.

He nodded with his lips pursed, "Sure, sure, of course. As long as that's what Lydia wants."

"Yes please." Lydia said.

"Do you feel any better?" He asked.

She smiled softly, "Yeah. Thank you."

"You look like you could use some tissues. Allison, can you go grab some? And a cup of water." He said as he walked towards a chair in the room.

Allison's eyebrows pinched together as if in a question, but instead she said, "Sure dad." Turning towards Lydia and clasping her friend's hands she said, "I'll be right back." Lydia nodded and then it was just her and Chris.

"An animal attack, huh?" He asked. She nodded solemnly. "You're lucky you got away." He sat in a chair in Lydia's room.

She nodded again, but this time slower and her head hung low. "But my friends didn't."

"Friends?" He asked, leaning in.

"Yeah. I don't know what happened to them." Her voice began to break again. "They just disappeared and I tried calling them-but they-they didn't answer and I-"

He softly hushed her and soothingly said, "It's okay. I've got people out looking for whatever did this right now. They'll be safe soon."

"Really?"

He nodded, "Oh yeah. Some of them work with animal control. Good hunters."

Lydia frowned and crossed her arms, "I… I don't know. Have you they hunted a bear before?"

"Sure. And things much bigger."

Lydia looked up at that. "And faster?" He smiled for an answer. She seemed to stop and think about that. "There were three of them. And-" She hesitated as if worried he wouldn't believe her.

"And? What is it? You can tell me."

But she shook her head with a chuckle. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get the police officer's apathetic look of disbelief out of her head. "It was just weird. I probably wasn't seeing right… the adrenalin or something." She muttered.

"What did the other two look like?" When she hesitated, he added, "Were they big like the bear?"

"Well-" She paused, "I mean, no. They _were_ big, but not like that. The bear-" She thought to herself that she wasn't quite sure it really was a bear "-was huge. And fast… and it-it-it didn't _really_ look like a bear." She turned her head as she said it, her eyes wide as if scared. "The others… they looked weird. And-" She shook her head.

"This bear… there's rumors that they might be circus animals. Was it wearing any clothes?"

"What?" She asked, her eyes locking onto his. Well… maybe it _was_ a bear. Silence sat in the room for a few moments before she opened her mouth. "The biggest one didn't." Allison walked into the room and handed Lydia a box of tissues. "So they were circus animals?" She said, sighing in relief. As Alison came closer, Lydia sat up straighter and tossed some of her hair back. She took the tissue and blew out her nose while Allison put the cup of water by Lydia's feet under the bed.

"Now… those friends you mentioned. What are their names?"

Xxx

Isaac breathed softly into one of Stiles' pillows until an irritating noise woke him. It was soft and rumbling, and had a bit of chatter on it like when teeth clang against each other. Slowly rising, Isaac turned to Stiles next to him to see if his new friend had woken up as well, but Stiles didn't seem bothered. Trying to ignore it, he turned away again.

Facing the wall, he thought about what Sherrif Stilinski had said. It made sense, but Isaac still hated it. Couldn't he just let this slide? Why did they have to call social services? He sighed thinking that Stiles' solution ended up backfiring. Clenching his fists and curling into a ball, he held back tears. "I'm sorry." Stiles had said, "Of _course_ this would have happened. I panicked-I wasn't thinking. We should have taken you to Scott's house instead." What would happen to Isaac now?

Sherrif Stilinksi had said that depending on what the case worker found, Isaac would still get to live with his father as if that were a good thing. With every breath, Isaac wondered if maybe he made a mistake. How could he go back after almost killing his dad? But what would happen to him if he didn't go back? Would he go to foster care? Would his aunt take him? Did she even know who he was? Isaac sighed and wished he still had his brother. He would have been old enough to take Isaac in.

Suddenly Isaac seethed at the annoying sound. Standing up angrily, he approached the window to find out where the noise was coming from. As he did, he looked down at red eyes near a bush. White teeth spread into a smile under the moonlight. Frozen, Isaac could do nothing but stare back. Finally it turned away as if approaching the front of the house. Was the monster going to come in?! Isaac rushed down the stairs to check if the door was locked. Then he went to the windows. The sounds of leaves rustling passed by him on the other side of the wall. "Isaac…." A voice said. "...what happened to your father?" Panting, Isaac gripped his fists as he felt his nails turn into claws. Quietly, he tried to control his breathing so that he could stay hidden, forgetting that neither of them had the limited abilities of humans.

The monster continued. "So unfair for you to do something like this without me. Though I guess it's for the best, I was trying to get a few of our packmates to catch up with your pace. I knew _you_ were ready. But you left too early. If I had been there, we could have made sure he was dead." Isaac stared into the floor, remembering blood, glass, and frightened eyes. At Isaac's silence, the voice continued, "Don't tell me you left him alive on purpose. Isaac…" Isaac felt as if he might throw up hearing his name in this stranger's mouth, "...sometimes we have to kill the people we love to become stronger." Isaac stopped breathing. "I did it too. Don't worry, it isn't too late. We'll take care of him together this time. I know I don't have to worry about you like the others. Just tell me when you're ready and we'll end this." The bushes rustled outside and then he was gone.

When Isaac finally went back upstairs, he realized the irritating noise had stopped a while ago. Carefully he went back into bed so as to not wake up Stiles.

Xxx

"Wake _up_." Danny said. "You and Scott need to stop pretending none of this is _real_ -"

"I'm not _pretending._ " Jackson said, "I really don't remember. Like-maybe a little, but I can't go into detail like you can!"

Danny sighed. "Look, I get it. It's scary. We didn't ask for this." He paused as Jackson sat on his bed. "I'm sorry, I'm just freaking out. I've never seen someone die before."

Jackson stiffened and looked down at his hands, suddenly feeling the urge to throw up. He rushed into the bathroom to rewash the blood off his hands. "This is freaking me out."

"We didn't kill him. That other thing did." He tightened his fists. "And we didn't stop it."

"What? Do you blame us? It sounded like a fucking _beast_." Jackson said from around the corner, turning off the sink. Suddenly Jackson had a vision of something big moving past him very quickly. He shook it off and walked back into the room.

The doorbell rang. Danny glanced over his shoulder at the sudden feeling of being watched. Cautiously he went up to the window behind him, but it was too dark outside and the light in the room only revealed his reflection. Angrily he stared into the window. Jackson was in the bathroom again, trying to make sure the blood was gone.

Voices could be heard downstairs. Footsteps became louder on the stairs as Jackson's mother's voice could be heard saying, "They went out a while ago, but I don't think they're back yet. You said you were with Lydia?" Danny turned towards the door as Mrs. Whittemore opened it. "Oh. Hello Danny. Is Jackson with you?"

"Yes, Mrs. Whitmore."

Jackson leaned into his mother's vision and asked, "What?"

"Mr… what was his name-Mr. Argent is downstairs. Lydia's friend's dad." She said pointing her finger in the air as if to remind herself. Jackson's eyes widened at the mention of Lydia's name and he desperately searched for his phone. "He said there was some animal attack, are you boys okay?"

Jackson shrugged and looked over at Danny. "Yeah."

"Well come downstairs. He wants to talk to you." And then she was gone.

"Argent? Like Allison Argent?" Danny asked.

"I guess."

"That's kinda weird." He crossed his arms over the familiar name. Maybe it just sounded familiar because it was Allison's name.

The boys headed downstairs. "Hello Mr. Argent." Danny said, leaning in to shake his hand.

Chris smiled and followed the handshake with another in Jackson's direction. "I heard you two met our neighborhood bully."

Danny breathed out a laugh, "I guess you could call it that."

"Lydia seemed pretty upset. She was worried you two got hurt, but I'm glad to see that you look safe."

Suddenly Jackson got a phone call from Lydia. "One sec." He said as he rushed upstairs.

Mr. Argent turned his attention to Danny. "This animal attack… what do you remember from it?"

Danny crossed his arms, "It was big. Fast. Is Lydia okay?"

"She'll be fine. Just a little traumatized." Mr. Argent took a step forward. "She shouldn't have had to see that."

Danny took a step back. "Yeah, it was messed up."

"How many were there?"

"Hmm?" Danny asked.

"How many of those animals did you see? The bears, I mean."

Danny shrugged, "Why? Are you with animal control?"

"Something similar."

Danny tried to appear unchanged as he suddenly found himself suspecting Mr. Argent of being a member of the old hunting family in Beacon Hills. "I just remember running away. Me and Jackson," Danny said, turning to gesture up the stairs, "freaked out and just ran. I feel kind of bad about Lydia. I'm glad she's okay."

Was Argent their last name? When was the last time he'd heard of them? Didn't they all leave years ago? Jackson remembered that Allison had only recently moved here. Maybe they were just moving back. But… the legendary hunter… Allison's dad looked too young to be him. Maybe Danny could call his parents tonight. He checked his phone and decided it'd be better to call in the morning.

"Got somewhere to be?" Mr. Argent asked.

"No, just checking the time." Danny said. "How's Allison? Did she also get in trouble with it?"

"Yeah, she's fine. She's with Lydia right now. I would have thought Jackson would be the one there. He's her boyfriend right? Kind of strange that he just-"

"We saw someone get killed." Danny said. "It's kind of hard to think straight when that happens."

Mr. Argent seemed to soften at this. "And you shouldn't have had to experience that." He paused before saying, "Sometimes things happen to you that you can't control. That doesn't mean you're at fault for it. But there _are_ rules to follow. Don't go out after curfew. If you want to talk about what happened, call this number." Mr. Argent said, handing Jackson a slip of paper. "Humans and… _beasts_ can live well together if we all follow the rules."

Danny couldn't find himself trusting this hidden message, but he took the paper. _Maybe soft rules are the reason why we were changed in the first place_. But now that he was one of those werewolves, he couldn't say this aloud. Instead he said, "Thanks."

Xxx

9:23pm

Lydia: _R u ok?_

L: _Jackson r u ok?_

9:40pm

L: _I looked for u. Please just tell me ur ok._

L: _Y r both of u so dumb just answer ur phones._

L: _Ill break up with u if u dont answer me_

11:01pm

L: _I wont break up with u just please answer me._

L: _Im fine btw._

L: _Allison helped me._

L: _Please call me when u can._

L: _I swear if ur phone died i will be so pissed._

L: _And what did Danny's phone die too?_

"Lydia… I'm sure he'll answer when he can." Allison said. Outside the girls could hear Mr. Argent's car rev on. Allison reached out to hold Lydia's hand. "You've done everything you can. Now we just have to wait."

Lydia sat unhappily knowing that Allison was probably right. As she tightened her fists, she became more irritated and her feeling of helplessness lessened. She went to stand but then she remembered the sight of the beasts and the dead body.

Twenty to thirty minutes later, Lydia's phone suddenly buzzed.

Jackson: _I'm fine. U ok?_

Lydia breathed out a heavy sigh and immediately called him. She expected that he'd come over immediately but instead he said that he couldn't because of the curfew. As if he ever cared before. But Allison tried to comfort Lydia by saying that he was probably scared too and she could see him tomorrow. It could made sense, so Lydia went along with that. Still doubt wandered in her mind as she remembered small moments of Jackson being strange recently.

"So does your dad hunt?" Lydia finally asked.

Allison sat up in surprise but responded, "Yeah, sometimes. He didn't used to as often, but he started up again since we've moved. Like deer I guess. I've never gone with him."

"So you don't hunt?" Lydia asked.

Allison shrugged, "No." Lydia looked a little disappointed, and Allison found herself saying, "but I know some archery."

"Wow, you're full of surprises." Lydia said with a smile. "Cute boutiques and archery? What else is there to you?"

"What about you?" Allison asked, tossing her hair back as she readjusted herself on the bed. Allison thought about the Lydia she saw in class and the Lydia she saw around Jackson. "Why do you hide how smart you are?" Lydia raised an eyebrow. "Whenever you're with Jackson you…"

Lydia narrowed her eyes as she looked away before pursing her lips as if asking herself a question. "Being smart isn't always about showing off how smart you are. Sometimes it's about finding the easiest way to get the things you want." Lydia said with a shrug, raising her chin with a definitive smile.

"Yeah but… I mean…" Allison wasn't sure how far to push this. She didn't want to make her friend upset but she also didn't like that Lydia didn't seem to think she could date Jackson and still be herself. Why should she have to dumb herself down to still be the girl who ruled school? And why did she need Jackson to maintain her status? Finally she pulled her hair behind an ear and shook her head with a smile.

"What?" Lydia asked, clearly on edge and ready to poke herself into an argument.

Allison shook her head again, her eyes glancing up just once before resting on Lydia's manicured hands. "Nothing."

"If you were smart, you'd date Scott or Isaac." Lydia said shaking some hair back as she lifted her chin again, looking up into a corner like a lounging queen. "They're rising stars in lacrosse and still available." _Might mess up by backup plan though._ Then she smiled to herself as if suddenly pleased, "It might be fun if you were there with me."

"There?" Allison asked, but Lydia pouted her lips into a smile, turning her head once more before finally standing to walk across the room. She looked past her reflection in the window into the darkness of night. Again she remembered what had happened earlier in the video store. Crossing her arms she decided to plot her next step in total rule of the school and wondered how much she should let Allison in on the truth.

But something bothered her in her thoughts… nagged at her. Why would there be circus animals in Beacon Hills?

Xxx

"Has he ever hurt you in any way?"

Isaac shrugged and looked over at a wall.

"We would like to inspect you for any signs of abuse on your body, is that alright?"

Isaac shrugged again. "I don't care."

The case worker left the room and a doctor came in. He was friendly and tried to get Isaac to smile, but Isaac was too nervous to. He hadn't expected the case worker to come so fast. Maybe it was because Mr. Stilinski was the one that reported it. How did he even figure it out? All Stiles said was that Isaac needed to stay for a bit. Isaac raised his other arm for the doctor. "Well," the doctor said with a smile, "You seem to be perfectly healthy."

Isaac looked at the doctor in surprise but then quickly tried to mask his emotions. When he thought back to his fight with his dad, he thought of the usual bruising patterns that should have been there. Was Isaac just stronger now? He put his hands in his pockets and looked away.

The caseworker came back in. "So…" She looked over the medical file, "It seems like you're in perfect health. We want to help you. Again, cases like these don't always mean you have to be removed from your family. If we can keep you with your father and give him the services to keep you safe, we will. But only if it's safe enough. Has your father ever hurt you in any way? Is there any evidence we can find that can help you?"

Isaac thought about the cooler in the basement while his lips zig-zagged across his face. He didn't care what the caseworker thought. He didn't care what Mr. Stilinski thought. He wasn't going back there. There was nothing she could do to make his father safer. But… he also didn't want to go to a foster home or something like that. How could he now? He was a werewolf. What if they moved him out of town? Could he really survive like this on his own? Without Scott and Stiles? He'd almost _killed_ someone by himself. But… he remembered the voice outside last night….

Would staying here really prevent him from killing his father or anyone else? What was it Stiles had said? Being a monster is something you choose? And what if he was already a monster? He'd wanted to kill his father. He almost did. Didn't that make him a monster? Could he choose his way out of that as well? Isaac gripped his fists as his teeth ground against each other.

"Isaac?"

"No." Not if he could stay in this town.


	11. The End (sorry)

Hey ya'll, it's the author. I'm kinda tired of writing this but I don't want to leave u hanging so I'm just gonna fill in the rest of the story with a quick outline.

With Isaac having nowhere left to go, he moves in with Scott instead. The three of them hang out more and eventually at some point the bowling scene happens. The dynamic is different; however, because it isn't a group date this time. Instead Allison is growing more suspicious of Scott while Lydia is increasingly paying attention to Danny and Jackson ever since they left her. While doing so, she catches on stronger that something is different about Jackson. It's a bit of a feel-good chapter, but also deals with this underlying tension.

Gerard calls Chris and warns that if there are more sightings of werewolves, he'll come down and take care of Beacon Hills himself. Allison overhears this conversation and begins to find clues to the truth about her family. Allison and Lydia start to have a general idea of what's going on. Derek finds out about Deaton. Stiles gets introduced to Deaton and starts training to become Druid as well (thanks to orianastro for that idea).

Lydia only half believes the Argents but then discovers the truth about Jackson in secret. She then has a moral dilemma of what to do with this information. Allison, on the other hand, is trying to find out the truth about these monsters on her own since her father is still trying to distance her from what's going on. Becoming more suspicious of Scott, she starts to try following him around, unknowingly also following the other werewolves in the process.

Chris' sis comes to town and pressures him to train Allison. Meanwhile, Allison is trying to help Lydia toughen up by giving her some self defense tips and training, and giving her pepper spray. At some point, Derek gets kidnapped by the Argents (still haven't decided if I want it to be around the same time it happens in the show or not). The werewolf team gets together and works as a pack to free him (except for Peter).

Also, at some point Stiles, Scott, and Isaac realize they like each other and start dating. Triad squad. Isaac is insecure/jealous in the relationship because he has known the two of them the least and Scott and Stiles have so much natural chemistry. The three of them develop a subplot of working through this insecurity and strengthening their relationship.

This whole time Peter has been putting pressure on Isaac to kill his dad. We also see Isaac trying to deal his father as Mr. Layhey struggles with his pride and need for power in his life. It's kinda gross and manipulative because it mostly happens in public, so none of the physical abuse and more of the "son, i miss you, please come home" but in a sickening way that most people don't pick up on. People who don't know anything assume that Isaac is being stubborn and unfair, taking pity on his dad. Isaac struggles with wanting to believe his father has changed, the social pressure to go back home, and his distrust for his father. The boys do their best to support him.

The hunting group loses a member as Peter keeps the deathtole up. One of the (idk who yet) werewolves accidentally kills someone thanks to a trap set up by Peter. Peter uses this to try and coral this mystery werewolf into convincing the others to be like them. Due to the fear of being hunted and the rising tension in the town, this tactic seems as if it will work. With the help of Stiles under Deaton's guidance, the team tries to help this person find strength and worth in himself so that he can come back from this and still find himself.

Allison is finally on team Argent and Lydia is trying to play both sides. She does this by being over demanding of wanting to see Jackson when she knows the Argents are going to be out and about looking for these werewolves (other than Derek obviously). Chris has already been suspecting Danny and Jackson ever since the night Lydia witnessed the attack in the video store. Finally the Argents find the truth about one of the boys and uses this to track them down alone and investigate. Peter comes in out of nowhere and kills another one of Chris' hunting team while saving this werewolf. Of course this causes problems and breaks the code (for like the 5th or 6th time).

The Argents start to use more aggressive tactics and Allison is all for it since she's had no sympathy set up (it's not like she's in love with Scott). Lydia is still trying to play both sides, but when the truth comes out about Jackson, she tries to convince Allison not to let anyone know and not to kill him. Allison agrees not to tell anyone, but tries her best to separate them from each other in the hopes that she can keep Lydia safe.

Tensions are too high at this point, and the werewolves have to lay low even on their way to and from school. The Argents are constantly looking for a fight and Stiles ends up stepping up as the pack emissary (thanks again orianastro). He does this by trying to reason with Allison first, but she's outraged by their claim to innocence. "How many people died? You didn't see Lydia that night she was attacked!" Stuff like that. Still, even Allison has some doubts after remembering how Lydia defended Jackson. Once the truth comes out that the person killing most of the people in town is this mysterious alpha werewolf, the two groups begin to work together, much to Allison's distaste. Eventually, through the team fight, they all hate each other a little less and take down the big bad wolf. Happy ending.

Thanks for reading with me all this time! In truth, I haven't been watching Teen Wolf for a couple years now. If I still loved the show, I'm sure I could rouse up the passion even if I hadn't watched it in a while. The thing is, I've fallen out of love with it for a while now. I wanted to finish this project just out of a sense of commitment, but as you can tell, there's a lot left to write and I've been ready to end it for quite some time. Still, it's been fun exploring this storyline and I hope you readers have had fun as well. Thanks again and goodbye!


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